Love Boat
by rk-kitty
Summary: Yeah, that’s why we’re all here. It’s because the first time we met wasn’t exactly a pretty sight, and the director said what we all needed was time to get to know each other…or else. Sorry, people! It's been a while (cough)...
1. Chapter 1

AN- 'Ello, my faithful, non-existent fans *muah*! Here is another un-finished story for my collection! Sorry, but I start these half-finished stories so people won't steal my ideas before I can even write them out (bwahahaha!). Anyways, on to my story and it's ridiculousness! First of all, it's another AU, so yeah…hope that didn't scare too many people away…and it's OOC…VERY OOC!! Kenshin is probably like no other…uhm, Kenshin-you've seen in any story (no, he isn't a sarcastic bastard, either, so if that was your first guess…well, you're wrong! =P) It's from first point of view, so the grammar might not be the best…eh heh. Well…I guess that's it… Uh…yeah…

Disclaimer-(wOOt wOOt!) I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, so piss off, you little…little…[insert something bad](s)! So there!

_"Hello, this is your captain speaking; we will be arriving in __Bush__Intercontinental__Airport__ in approximately 30 minutes. Please buckle your seat belts and put up your service trays. We will be landing shortly. Thank you for choosing Continental®, we look forward to serving you again."_

"Thank God!"

My eyes flew open. I spent the next few seconds blinking away exhaustion, and then I threw a glare in my neighbor's direction. He wasn't looking at me; instead he was busy crossing his feet over his service tray and crossing his arms behind his head. The person in the seat in front of him didn't mind, but that's only because there wasn't a person there. No, we _are_ sitting in the back of the plane; he just scared away the poor guy using the words 'smoke detector', 'bathroom', and 'bomb'.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" I asked him. I knew it was a useless gesture, but oh, well.

His yellow eyes rolled slowly towards me. "Yeah, I heard. A half an hour left!" he exclaimed, obviously happy. "I can't wait to get off this plane and go party my ass off!"

His voice was loud enough to attract at least half the plane. But after 12 hours of the same thing, you get used to it.

"No, the tray thing," I sighed.

He looked at his footrest. "What about it?"

"Never mind…" I muttered. It was useless, like I said. How I got stuck with this dense prick of a redhead is beyond me.

Well, I know that by now you're probably wondering what the heck I'm talking about by now. To make a long story incredibly short, I'm regretting ever taking a cheap job opportunity like this one. I guess it was just pity and sympathy I was feeling at the time for the sucker who had ever put the ad in that magazine in the first place. After all, the description was extremely accurate and "picky", not to mention rare.

Okay, you tell me: How many trilingual teenagers with acting experience do you know? 

Unfortunately, that ad called for a guy and a girl. I'm the girl. Guess who my partner is?

Suddenly, there was a loud snap, followed by a clattering sound. I jumped in surprise, and then turned to my 'partner'. He was laughing and pointing at a seat in a row in front of ours. I couldn't really see anything, and I didn't really want to. I was pretty sure I knew who it was already.

"Shut up, Kenshin…"

I knew it. Kenshin didn't stop laughing until there was another snap and a 'thud!' His feet fell, still crossed, to the floor on top of his broken tray. He looked surprised.

"Ha ha…" said a voice from further up.

"Shut up, you broom," Kenshin replied, trying to fix his tray. He pulled a roll of silver duct tape from his shorts pocket (don't ask me why he keeps that junk in his pocket…) and broke pieces of it off with his teeth. One hand held the tray in place and the other placed the portions of tape on its corners. When he was done, he sat back and admired his work.

"What do you think?" he asked me, grinning stupidly.

I took one look at it and responded with a sigh, "God, you're stupid…"

And that's when the flight attendant finally came back to check our over head compartments and trays. She stopped when she got to Kenshin's. I felt embarrassed and turned my head to the window, still watching them from the corner of my eye.

She looked at him. He was trying not to laugh and failing miserably. 

"What?" he asked as innocently and casually as possible. "What?!"

"What happened to your tray, Sano?" she asked him patiently.

No, his name wasn't Sano. But the attendant had asked his name before when he was caught throwing chips at somebody and he had switched names with the supposable "broom" up front. I swear he's such an idiot. Both of them.

"It was like that when I got here," he protested pathetically. Suddenly the tray fell off the chair. 

It must be pretty hard to be a flight attendant, especially when you had to deal with dorks like these all day long. There was snickering coming from the front. Kenshin glanced at the tray, then to the stewardess.

She looked at him with this fake, 'amused' look, like teachers give to kids they can't handle. A look he must have gotten a lot during his life. Kenshin had this shocked expression on his face, as if the tray falling was new to him.

"See? I got a defective table," he said. She feigned a smile and walked away, passive and calm. I guess that was the best she could do without strangling the guy. I heard Kenshin still sniggering, probably because the steward was asking "Kenshin" what had happened to _his_ tray.

Finally, when the attendant left Sano, Kenshin leaned forward and tried to get his attention.

"Hey…Hey! Sano!" he called, whispering.

"What?" Sano's voice called back.

"I dare you to touch that girl's ass."

"What?"

Kenshin sighed, then cupped his hands around his mouth and repeated what he had said, only louder. I could only wish for a table to flop my head down on in embarrassment.

"Who?" 

"That service chick."

"The attendant?"

"Yeah."

"Can't."

"Why not? You scared?"

"Nah. My girl will get mad at me."

Yes, Sano had to have a partner, too. However, he got along fine with his…which, in my opinion, is amazing. How anyone could get along with her is almost unbelievable. If he got along so well with her then why did they even have to come?

Then I remembered that there were others he didn't get along with. Yeah, that's why we're all here. It's because the first time we met wasn't exactly a pretty sight, and the director said what we all needed was time to get to know each other…or else.

So, either we get along during this trip or we get fired. Which isn't too bad.

"You're a wuss. She's sleeping, she won't know."

"If you're so damned bent on it then why don't you do it!?"

"Because I already touched--"

Thank God for intercoms, 'cause it suddenly came on and interrupted what Kenshin was about to say, which I really didn't want to hear.

_"At this point, all electric devices should be shut off for taxi and all service trays up. We will be landing shortly." _

Kenshin was finally quiet, his hands rammed into his pockets and his legs stretched out. He looked very excited. I really hope he wasn't planning on getting drunk off his ass and then trying to share a room with me.

"Hey…Hey!" he suddenly said, turning to me.

"What do you want?" I snapped. I know that the way I'm talking makes me sound really bitchy, but I'm not like this to everyone all the time. I was just in a really bad mood. After over 12 hours of being stuffed into a crowed airplane with no real sleep and a bored idiot sitting next to me, I was ready to kill somebody…

Or at least get some sleep.

Kenshin either ignored my tone, or just plain didn't hear it, because he continued as if I hadn't said anything. "I got a friend in Houston I'm going to go see when this baby lands. Wanna come with?"

"No," I said without a moment's hesitation. 

"Aww, why not?" 

"I'm tired, and I don't really feel like driving you around."

Kenshin looked puzzled. He got out his wallet and checked it, then put it back and turned to me again. "I have a driver's license, ya know."

"Yeah, well that doesn't really help you if you're drunk, now does it?"

 "Whatever. Suit yourself." He shrugged and turned back around in his seat.

The plane was slowly descending, and I could feel it turning right, then left, then right again, as if the pilot couldn't make up his mind on which direction he wanted to go.

It seemed like hours before we actually got on the ground. The plane drove around on the runways for a few minutes, and then slowed to a stop at one of the many gates. The seat belt light turned off and Kenshin instantly jumped out of his seat. After all, his seat belt was never buckled in the first place.

He didn't have anything with him on the plane, either, so all he had to do was walk out. 

_"Welcome to __Houston__, __Texas__. We'd like to thank you once again on behalf of the staff here at Continental Airlines®, we hope to see you again. Enjoy your summer."_

*   *   *

After finally getting out of the airport and into the limo the director had 'oh-so-nicely' reserved for us, I finally relaxed and got a chance to really get a good look at the people I was 'fated' to work with for the next year or so.

The tall, gravity-defying-haired man sitting across from me was Sagara Sanosuke. He didn't really bother me; he was nice enough to everyone but a few people. Right now he was buried alive with suitcases and bags. And somehow he still managed to free one arm to wrap around the girl next to him.

My eyes went to the woman under Sano's arm. Her name, if I remember it right, was Takani Megumi…I think. She was, to quote Kenshin, "quite a looker". Currently, she was in a black jacket that was way to big for her, sleeping under Sano's arm, leaning on him.

I didn't really like her. Megumi flirted with anything with two legs, two balls, and a girlfriend. Why Sano likes her and treats her so nicely is beyond me.

I cast a glance towards my left. A girl obviously younger than me was sitting silently, quietly, and as if waiting for something to happen. The look on her face told me she really didn't want to be here. I forgot her name, but I remembered meeting her because of the giveaway braid rope hanging from her head. She was wearing a gigantic black sweater and a short pink skirt. To explain her personality in a simple sentence-she won't talk to you if she doesn't trust you. Half the people in this limo compartment have yet to gain that trust…And it was very hard to get along with someone if they refused to speak to you.

Unfortunately, I'm one of the "un-trusted" ones. I don't know why, I've been very nice to her and everyone else (that I can stand) here. I think her partner isn't on the 'trusted people' list, yet, either. 

His name is Shinomori Aoshi. He's just as quiet as she is, only quieter, if possible. His eyes are really weird. One minute his blue eyes are sparkling with greeting, the next they're so cold I can't look him in the eye without shuddering. His mouth never moves, so you have to look at his eyes if you wanted to see if he was happy or not. I thought he was nice, but maybe that was just because he never said anything offensive. In fact, he never said anything at all.

Well, he _looks_ nice.

There's some other people in here I don't really remember meeting at all. A greasy looking man smoking that I wouldn't touch with a meter stick and gloves, and an older man with long dark hair who is sitting very comfortably and normally in his seat even though he's sleeping are just some of the people I don't know that are sitting with us.

And, of course, there was Kenshin. My ridiculous partner, who had common sense but chose to ignore it, as well as the maturity level of a 6-year-old even though he was over three times that age. It really was frustrating to know that out of all the people here, I got stuck with him. 

Suddenly, the limo came to a halt. Sano turned his head to look out the window behind him.

Outside there was a tall building that I surmised to be our hotel. We all exited the fancy limo, luggage in hand. Once on firm, unmoving ground, I allowed my head to flop back in order to see the big red letters at the top of this building.

It read Marriott, for Marriott hotel. 

My head snapped back to its normal position and I began following everyone into this said hotel. Kenshin was already at the front desk, getting room keys.

He came over and handed one to me, then inspected his more carefully.

"These keys sure are weird…" he said, looking at the holes in the key card. Sano walked up to us, already holding two key cards of his own. The others slowly gathered around us, listening. "Okay, I think the ship leaves at like, 4:30 something, or whatever. So we have to be there at, like, 3:00."

"Isn't it an hour drive to Galveston?" I asked wearily. Sano looked at me, calculating what I said.

"Yeah, I think. So…that means we'll have to meet here at, say about…1:50?"

"Fine by me. I'm going to sleep…" I muttered. There were mumbles of agreement from everyone else. We began moving towards the elevators. The minute one was available, everyone piled into it, pressing different door buttons. Kenshin was the last one to press a button, and when he did, he looked puzzled for a minute before pressing one.

"That's so weird…" he said. "There isn't a 13th floor."

"Must be superstitious people who built the place," Sano said. "I wouldn't know, though, 'cause the last hotel I went to didn't even have 13 floors, heh."

The elevator stopped at the 17th floor. Aoshi and his partner stepped out. I wondered how the hell those two would get along. I mean, how can you associate with someone when you can't even talk to one another?

Floor 19 was our stop. I waved goodbye to the other occupants of the elevator and followed Kenshin down the hall. He followed the numbers on the doors until he stopped on one particular door. "Here." He pointed.

I shoved my key card into the slot and stumbled inside, throwing my things on one of the two beds. Kenshin dropped all his baggage onto the floor and began rummaging through one of them.

I sighed audibly and looked around. The room wasn't too small. It had two large beds, a dresser with a TV on it, and one bathroom. There was a chair and a glass-topped table near the covered window.

"Alright…" Kenshin suddenly said, getting up. He went to the door and threw it open. "I'll be back later." He left without another word.

It took me awhile to realize what he said, and then I shrugged. I sure hoped he had remembered his key, 'cause I wasn't going to open the door for him if he came back when I was sleeping if I could help it.

*   *   *

All of a sudden, there was an infernal pounding in my head, and I woke up because of it. The pounding stopped, and I laid back down to go back to sleep. Then, it happened again, only louder.

It took me awhile to figure out that it wasn't my head pounding—it was the door. I tossed a tired glance towards the digital clock sitting on the nightstand. 

4:49

I wouldn't be surprised if a hole was burned in the door after the glare I gave it.  It took a lot of will power to drag myself out of the bed. My feet took over for me after that, carrying me all the way to the door. I didn't have to look in the peephole to know who it was. I unlocked the door and threw it open.

"May I help you?" My eyebrow was twitching.

Sano was standing in the doorway, looking positively happy and tired all at once. Over his shoulders was Kenshin's arm. The rest of him was leaning against Sano. Heck, he wasn't even leaning. The only reason he was in an upright position was because Sano's arm around his lower back and his own arm around Sano's shoulders. In one of Sano's hands was Kenshin's wrist. In the other one there was a…

I don't know where my mind was at the time, but the next thing I knew, I had slapped the object from Sano's hand. It clattered to the ground, my eyes never leaving it.

"What was that about?" Sano asked me jadedly. "It wasn't like I was going to shoot you. It's not even mine, it's his." He pointed to the unconscious man he was supporting.

"Wha…? H-How the hell did he get it in the airport?!" I yelled in a slight whisper, fully awake now.

"I dunno. Why don't you ask him when he wakes up?" He yawned. "Well, here you go… Merry Christmas." Sano slowly peeled Kenshin off of him and held him out to me. I backed away on impulse.

"Oh, no. Hell no," I said firmly. "I'm not sleeping in the same room with someone who is drunk and carries a gun. You take him."

Sano took a while to comprehend what I said, then looked at Kenshin. "I can't."

"Why not? You--"

"Listen, I gotta share a room with fox lady. If she wakes up and sees him in our room, she'll kick my ass."

"Well, if I wake up and I'm dead, I'm gonna come back and kick your ass."

"You're overreacting. The guy's harmless. Isn't that right, Kenshin?" Sano asked him, grinning. He grabbed Kenshin's red undone hair and pulled it back and forth, making him nod unconsciously. Sano started laughing. "Oi, he really is wasted." He leaned forward over Kenshin's shoulder and pushed one of his eyelids open, looking into his hazed, yellow eye as if it were a peephole.

"Stop it!" I hissed. Men. I swear they are such idiots. "I don't know what you are going to do with him, but there's no way he's coming into this room. Goodnight!" I made to shut the door but Sano stuck his foot out.

"You can't just leave me with him! He's your guy!" he protested. 

"Yes, well, now he's yours."

"Is this about the gun thing? Here, just give it to me and take him."

I considered this for a minute. I really didn't want Kenshin back into this room, but I couldn't just leave Sano with him. It wasn't fair. "…Fine…" I reluctantly agreed, picking the gun up from where it landed. Sano took it and then held out Kenshin again.

"I'm not touching him," I said defiantly. Sano sighed but stepped into the room and threw Kenshin into the opposing bed. "Goodnight, Sano…Thanks…I guess…"

"Yeah, whatever." He yawned again. "Damn, I'm tired. Night, Missy."

I closed the door after him and turned around to go back to bed when there was another tapping on the door. Grumbling, I turned back to the door.

"What?" I snapped, throwing the door open. 

Sano stood there, smiling sheepishly. He scratched his head and fished the gun out of his pocket. "I can't keep it. Kenshin would kill me if he knew I had it."

"That's why he killed you when you where holding it when you knocked on the door the first time?" I stated bluntly.

"Hey, I just took it 'cause I didn't want him to hurt himself when we were driving back. He almost shot his own head off when he showed it to me-literally." He pointed to Kenshin's bangs; my eyes followed his finger. They were black at the ends, singed. I don't think my eyes could've gotten any wider.

"Oh, thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. Sano, I don't care if Kenshin would shoot you with it when he finds you with it, it's not coming back in this room."

Ten minutes later I find myself throwing the gun into the nightstand drawer by my bed. I sighed, but I was starting to get really tired of Sano's constant whining as well as just plain tired in general. So kept it and hoped that I'd be alive in the morning.

*   *   *

I did turn out to be alive next morning. I woke up at 9:30, though I could have sworn it was earlier than that because it was really dark. Yawning, I got up to go open the blinds.

There was a growl of,"Don't touch them."

I shot a murderous glance towards the figure in the red armchair. No, it wasn't about the blinds. It was the fact that he had scared me to death that made me so mad. 

"Why not?" I asked indignantly. "It's as dark as a--"

"Shhhh!" he snapped back. His voice was light and only a whisper, but fierce. "Don't…say…anything…"

I cocked my eyebrow at him. He had a pillow over his head, covering it completely. His red hair was still all over the place, and his clothes were in the same state as they were yesterday. Then, realization dawned on me and I smirked.

"So, did you have fun last night? And what are you-" I snatched the pillow off his head, "-doing?"

His golden eyes shot open and he grabbed the pillow back, giving me the worst look he could muster in his state before ramming it back on his head. "Writing poetry. Go away."

"Oh, really?" I smiled. "Let's hear what you've got so far."

He sucked in air through his teeth, annoyed. I mentally laughed…well, actually, I physically laughed, too. Then, Kenshin's voice brought me back.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, you're pissing me off, so fuck you."

I wasn't expecting that one, but I continued smiling anyway. "Well, I suggest you start to get ready now, 'cause we only have four hours to get ready and eat breakfast," I commented.

"Shush," Kenshin muttered. He pulled the pillow tighter over his head.

"You're going to suffocate yourself if you don't stop that, ya know."

"Shut…up…"

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you…" I walked over to my bedside and leaned over to turn the light on. The minute it clicked, Kenshin grumbled something and twisted around in his chair.

I was in the process of taking my clothes from their place in one of my three bags when suddenly a tone I recognize from a song sounded. Kenshin cursed from under his pillow, took his cell phone from his back pocket, and threw it frustratingly at the wall without even looking at it. It left a mark on the wall, but it didn't break or stop ringing.

"Will you get that?" he asked plaintively, his voice muffled by the pillow. The only thing that made me answer it is my enjoyment of the humor in this situation.

I knew I heard the voice from somewhere, but they asked for Kenshin, so that's who I handed it to. He took the pillow off his head and put the phone to his ear, blinking in the light of the lit lamp over my bed.

"Hello?"

The responding sound was so loud even I winced slightly from it. Kenshin threw the phone again and it broke into several pieces. He covered his head with the pillow.

"Fucker," he growled, curling up on the chair again. I heard laughter coming from outside our door and I went to open it.

Sano was outside, guffawing like an idiot, his own cell phone on the floor by his foot as evidence to who had called. He was trying to say something, but he was laughing too much to be decipherable. I guess he finally gave up trying to talk and just held out a key card.

"Thank you," I said sarcastically, snatching up the key. Sano waltzed right in and baffled me for a second. Then, I re-gathered myself.

"What are you doing? This isn't your room!" I scolded.

"Shhhhh!" Kenshin yelled from his corner of the world. 

"Yeah, but Fox kicked me out 'cause she wanted to get ready," he stated simply, as if it were reason enough. "So, I thought I'd drop by for a visit."

"Well, you thought wrong. Go hang out with somebody else."

"Aww, come on. Be nice."

"If you don't shut up, I'm gonna pop a nice cap in your ass," Kenshin said. That shut Sano up quick, because he knew it wasn't exactly an empty threat, but he was still laughing slightly. I contemplated what he had just said.

I was about to scold Kenshin for even having a gun in the first place, but when I turned to face him, I stopped.

He had a weird expression on his uncovered face, as if he was about to do something, but he couldn't remember what it was. And then, it was really clear what he was about to do.

Practically throwing himself out of the chair, Kenshin clamped a hand over his mouth and scrambled towards the bathroom, tripping over everything including his own feet as he did. The loud 'clank' and the sounds of retching told me he had made it.

Sano 'tsk-tsked' him and said,"I hope this teaches you a lesson, young man."

Kenshin stumbled out of the bathroom, glaring wearily at Sano. "Young man, my ass…"

"That's not nice. You're really a lot more fun to around when you're drunk."

'_I don't wanna know…I don't wanna know…_'

*   *   *

"I hope next time you'll think twice about throwing your stuff," I said to a pre-occupied Kenshin. He didn't pay any attention to me.

Kenshin began pounding the shit out of his already busted phone. His mouth was full of little pieces, like a seamstress's mouth would be full of pins. "Hey, someone toss me a screwdriver."

"Dude, you're cell phone is beyond repair," Sano said. He suddenly sniffed dramatically. "There's nothing we can do now. We were *sniff* too late." I stuffed my fist in my mouth to stifle my laugh. Sano was so stupid it was funny sometimes.

"Shut up. This was all your fault in the first place," Kenshin replied around the phone parts, scowling. He continued trying to piece his phone back together.

We continued walking until we got to the elevators, where we waited for an available one. 

"I wonder when Fox is gonna be done," Sano wondered aloud, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning against the wall. I didn't want to tell him what I really thought of her, so I didn't.

The elevator dinged, and we all filed into it. Coincidentally, Aoshi's partner was standing in the elevator, as well as some other couple. Kenshin pressed a button and began toying with his phone again, saying "damn it" every two seconds.

Much to my dismay, it was an approximate 10 seconds and 5 "damn it's later before he began bashing his phone against the elevator wall in an attempt to hammer his cell battery into his broken phone. The couple jumped and edged away from him; I did the same thing, trying to pretend I didn't know him either.

Sano grabbed his wrist. "If your phone wasn't broken two seconds ago, it certainly is now," he said. Kenshin muttered an incoherent reply and removed himself from Sano's grasp, inspecting his phone. Sano slapped him on the back good-heartedly and Kenshin suddenly looked shocked.

"What's the matter?" Sano asked. Kenshin didn't respond. He just swallowed hard.

The elevator dinged and the couple rushed out. I barely noticed them, my full attention on Kenshin. He suddenly fell to his knees, gripping his throat.

"He's choking!" I yelled after finding my voice. "Sano, do something!"

"Me?" Sano sounded dumbfounded. "I mean, right!" He looked thoughtful, then his face brightened with an idea. He dragged Kenshin to his feet and shoved him into a wall.

"What are you doing?!"

Sano didn't answer; instead he socked Kenshin in the stomach, knocking whatever wind he had left out of him. Kenshin's eyes widened and he fell to the ground face first.

"Whoops, my bad!" Sano said sheepishly. Sano was so stupid it was frustrating sometimes. He reached out to pick Kenshin up by his collar, but I slapped his hands away irately.

"Leave him alone for a minute," I ordered, shooting angry glances at Sano the whole time. The girl was kneeling beside Kenshin as well and she experimentally poked him. Kenshin twitched.

His hand shot up and suddenly grabbed Sano by the collar. Breathing deeply, Kenshin slowly looked up, his amber eyes shooting bullets at Sano. Sano grinned stupidly.

"You wouldn't beat up your friend, now would you?" he asked, still smiling. Kenshin made an irritated sound and shoved him away. The elevator 'dinged' for the second time. This time, it was on the second floor. 

Kenshin and Sano got up and moved to get out, me following them. Kenshin suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Yo, Misao!" he called. I turned around. Was he addressing…? "We're about to go get some breakfast, wanna come?"

"Okay!" the girl in the elevator responded enthusiastically. I could feel my eyes widening. How the hell did he do that? Misao bounced out of the elevator, which I thought was completely out of character for someone who didn't talk at all. Was this the same girl?

I followed the trio as they continued walking down the hall, barely hearing the tidbits of conversation flowing between them. How in all that is humanely possible did he do that? I had been extremely polite to Misao in hopes of gaining her friendship and trust, and yet that…that…that mop!--had been a step ahead of me the whole time. It was ridiculous and impossible. My, but it was degrading to know someone of his social level had outdone me.

"So, where's Aoshi?" I snapped back to reality, just barely catching Sano's question to Misao.

I watched her reaction. Her face was like a fast-forward movie. Pondering… dawning realization… horrification. "Oh my God! Aoshi! I left him…—uh, I gotta go!"

She was gone before I could even make a startled face. Kenshin and Sano continued walking.

"What was that all about?" I asked nobody in particular. Sano shrugged.

"Misao has short term memory…uh what was it? Attention deficit disorder, something like that," Kenshin replied easily, not even stopping. I followed until we stopped at the 'restaurant'.

"How do _you_ know that?" I asked suspiciously. 

"Because I asked her, maybe?" he replied, rolling his eyes. 

"That's not a very nice thing to ask someone…"

"What, it's not like I asked her if she was a virgin or not. She just seemed off her rocker."

"So why didn't ask her _that_?" Sano cut in.

"I did ask her that, too."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "I don't know why I'm even participating in this conversation," I muttered.

Sano ignored my input as he continued, reaching for the food set out. "So, what time are we leaving again?"

"1:50," I said, exasperated. He checked his watch.

"You mean, in ten minutes?"

"Yes, I mean--" Suddenly, I realized what Sano said. "What do you mean 'in ten minutes'!?"

"I mean in ten minutes, like I said. Phew, that means there's time for breakfast!" He started off towards the lovely buffet in front of him again. I gritted my teeth.

"No, it doesn't!" I yelled, grabbing his plate and replacing it. "We only have ten minutes to get all our stuff and get ready and get back here and--"

"Whoooa, Missy, breathe!" Sano said, grasping my shoulders and shaking me slightly. Bristling, I pulled away from him. "First of all, ten minutes is plenty of time! Secondly, my watch is 5 minutes fast anyway. And thirdly… uh… well… thirdly… Well, who cares! I'm hungry, and that stupid ship can wait for a few minutes." He started helping himself to everything. I glared at him in annoyance and disbelief before turning to Kenshin.

Well, that's who I would've turned to if he was there. "Kenshin? Sano where's--"

Sano was already stuffing his face at a table by a window. I frowned at nobody, blowing bangs out of my face. Turning on my heel, I went to find the redhead.

I was in the process of walking down the lobby stairs when I heard his voice. To my dismay, when I heard his voice, it wasn't like a normal calling like 'hey!' or whatnot; it was a loud "Whoooooo!" My head turned slowly around because the rest of me was rooted to the spot with horrified suspense.

"Oi! Raccoon! Kaoru! Watch out!" he shouted.

Kenshin was sliding down the banister (like an idiot) and I was in his direct line of fire.

I couldn't move, even though I knew there was no way he could stop either, though he looked like he was trying to. The only thing I did, which, now, I admit was stupid, was close my eyes tight and wait for impact.

It didn't come, and the suspense of it all was killing me, so I risked opening an eye. His nose was inches away from mine and his expression looked strained. My other eye opened and I slowly looked the rest of him over. His eyes were squeezed shut like mine and his breath was hitched, anticipating the collision like I had been. There was a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face. And his position…well…his position simply did not look comfortable for any male. Maybe that's the real reason why he looked in pain.

The silence, the feeling that time stopped, and the knowledge that every eye in the lobby was on us made my face burn. I was embarrassed, of course, and that only added to the reasons I couldn't speak clearly. "K-Ke…en…shin…" I whispered, my voice cracking. "Are you…okay?" My voice slowly began regaining confidence. His eyes remained closed, but he tried to say something.

"M-Moo…fuck…" 

"…Moo?"

"…M-Move!"

That's when, despite all his previous efforts, Kenshin keeled over and unceremoniously fell on top of me, something I was totally unprepared for. I managed to catch his weight, but I couldn't support it, and I fell backwards. The last thing I felt was the back of my head hitting marble and the eruption of pain that followed before darkness consumed me.

AN-Told ya! How was it? So horrible your eyes popped out of your head and ran away screaming? Or so good you…well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't good enough so why even ask? Well, this chapter was mostly for 'character development' anyway. And it was half written a million years ago and half written recently, so if you notice a quick change in character between people, well, that's why. I tried to patch it up, but yeah. Anyways, yes, this does take place in U.S., which is an unlikely possibility, but how am I supposed to understand what I'm typing if it was in Japan? Besides, I live in the U.S., so I can relate to everything and not have to worry about it being "virtually impossible" or "highly inaccurate". BTW I've experienced and been to all places listed and discussed (and soon to be listed and discussed), so the information on location and description of it _is_ actually pretty accurate, so neah! In yo' face! 

Well, for anyone who's still reading, I'd like to politely asketh ye for a lovethly review or two. *grins shyly-like* It really inspires me and makes me feel a little better about myself…eh heh heh heh heh…? Pwease?

(Readers of my other fics (that's not many, btw) check the profile for the '411' on my other dealy-ma-jings! Heh…)


	2. Chapter 2

AN- Wheee! Thank you, thank you my first few fans! *muah*! Cokes (just because cookies are so over-rated) for everybody! Anyways, thanks for your reviews and readings…? (Readings…? Oh well…) Well, here is an update for those of you who decided to read my crappy writings. wOOt! It's a tiny bit more…how should I say this…serious? Yeah, that. Well, that's all I gotta say, go knock yourself out…not literally!

Warnings and the disclaimer- OOC-ness (lots of it), AU, and I suck at writing. Oh, and I don't own RK. Don't forget that one.

Voices… The first sense that came to me was sound, and I could hear the murmur of voices. Unfortunately, my vision didn't come as quickly or easily. Blurred faces swam in and out of my eyesight, adding to the painful migraine crowding at my temples.

"Look, she's awake! Her eyes are opening… Oh, hey, did you see that pink car go by?! I wish I had a pink car…"

"Yo, Missy, are you in there?"

Someone poked me in my side. I laughed. I didn't mean to, but I can't help it if I'm ticklish. 

Seconds later, I wished I hadn't laughed, because then my head started pounding violently. I felt something poke me again and I bit my lip to stop laughing.

"Ow, stop it, I'm awake…" I moaned painfully, my eyes closing automatically in an attempt to block out the pain in my head. I reached out blindly for a support to help me up. The first thing my hand touched was someone's hair.

"Oi!" A hand grabbed mine and quickly pulled me into a sitting position. The problem was it was too quickly and I felt like I had gotten whiplash, though I was sure it was only because of the massive headache. I heard myself groan unintentionally again.

"Missy…?" I forced my eyes open. "Hey, you okay? You nearly busted your head open!"

"I…did?" I looked around wearily. I was sitting in Kenshin's lap and my legs were on Sano's. Behind me was Misao with a pillow in her lap. She was looking outside her window at passing cars. "Where are we?"

"She has amnesia!" Sano yelled dramatically. My head throbbed at his voice.

"Shhh!" I whispered, trying to keep my voice down. "I have a massive headache…"

"Well, I would, too, if I had fallen on my head," Kenshin said from beside me.

"Could you keep your voice down?" I whined, feeling pathetic. I didn't even need a mirror to know that I looked like I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket that sent shocks to my hair and nothing else.

Kenshin snorted. "Yeah, it's funny how much that sounds like what I asked you to do this morning, and what did you say?"

I guess it was true that Karma was a bitch. I pressed my palms into my eyes. "Where are we?" I repeated.

"On our way to Galveston," Sano replied.

"Already?" I said, taken aback. "How long have I been out?"

"On the long side of an hour," Misao said, jumping into the conversation. "We're almost there… I can't wait! I've never been on a cruise before."

"Yeah…" I said, barely listening. What I couldn't wait for was peace, quiet, and a bed. I usually didn't sleep during the day, but I was hoping I could sleep my headache off.

"Yay! I think we're here!" Misao shouted suddenly, peering out her window again. Sure enough, the limo slowed to a stop. Misao jumped up and grabbed Aoshi's hand. He had been sitting across from us. She pulled him to his feet and threw the door open. Aoshi remained expressionless.

Sano watched curiously as they left. "Is it me, or is that guy a rock? Anyways, time to go. You okay, Missy? Need any help with your stuff?"

That would make me feel even worse, so I declined. There was a huff from across us and suddenly there was one less person in the limo compartment. Sano looked towards the door, then smacked his forehead.

"Shit, I think I made her mad again…" he grumbled, filing out of the door. I picked myself up off of Kenshin and stumbled out of the door. He followed me.

I looked around, squinting in the painfully bright light. The rest of our little group was filing out of the limo, looking both excited and tired. I was the latter. Then, I began to notice my surroundings.

I could see the ship from here. It was huge. And, by the looks of how many people were herding into the many entrances of the nearest building, it was going to be packed.

"We're kinda early, so we shouldn't have to worry about much of a crowd," Aoshi said from behind me. I turned around.

"Hey, where's Misao? I thought she was with you…" I said, startled.

"She _was_," was his simple answer. His eyes were shining.

*   *   *

We did eventually find Misao. She was already inside, way ahead of us in the ticket line.

Some guys took our luggage for us. Apparently Kenshin and Sano had already gotten mine after I 'fainted', so I didn't worry too much about that. They said it would be delivered to our rooms tonight.

After we had our tickets taken and inspected, they took our pictures and gave us key cards and credit cards only usable on the ship with money from our 'loving' director deposited onto them. It had dining table numbers on it and other information.

Then we finally got on the ship. I learned Misao wasn't the only one 'psyched' about this trip; Sano was very excited about the fact that half the alcohol on the boat was free.

"And all the food is free, too!" he had said. "What more could you ask for?"

I could even hear the rest of our cast babbling about it. For people in the acting business, they sure didn't out much. Half of them didn't even visit their rooms. They went straight to exploring the ship. I had a different plan.

I headed straight for my room, the remains of my brain cells pounding relentlessly in my head. It wasn't 'til I arrived at the door that I noticed Kenshin was following me.

"What, are you sleeping, too?" I asked him wearily. He shrugged, grinning.

"I didn't know where our room was, so I followed you to find out. I didn't want to spend half the night looking for it."

"Okay, then," I said, rolling my eyes as I unlocked the door.

The room was small, but not too crowding. There was a TV hanging in the corner, two separate beds (making me very happy), a bathroom, closets, and a window with a nice display of Galveston's ugly green waters. I was hoping that view wouldn't stay in the window too long.

I went to the bathroom to have a look inside. Toilet, shower and a sink. Oh, and I couldn't forget the mirror. It told me just how miserable I looked.

"Ew..." I sighed, trying to tame my unruly hair. I couldn't help it. I knew I was going straight to sleep, anyway, but I'm a neat freak when it came to my looks. Finally admitting defeat with my hair, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Kenshin was walking away from the beds. "Well, have a lovely nap!" he said, throwing open the door. "I'll be back later."

"Hn, where have I heard _that_ one before?" I snapped after he left. I could be a bitch if I didn't sleep…especially with the headache still fresh on my mind. I shut the curtains and flopped down on one of the two beds, not even bothering to take off my shoes or sweater.

"Well, I guess this trip couldn't get any worse…" I groaned consolingly to myself.

It took no time at all for me to fall into a deep sleep.

*   *   *

I don't know how long it had been, but it seemed like I had only closed my eyes when an alarm sounded. My eyes shot open.

I don't think I had ever been so surprised in my life. Kenshin was on all fours, on top of me. One of his hands was frozen over my hair, reaching out for something. Amber eyes slammed into mine, and his mouth opened and closed in shock.

"…Ah!-Kaoru…I was going to…well…uh…?"

I took a deep breath and screamed. The hand over my hair quickly went over my mouth, blocking out most of my scream.

"It isn't what you think!"

I wasn't raised in the nicest of neighborhoods and I knew how to think on my feet. I drove my knee as hard as I could into him, and as a result, he fell face first onto my chest, holding himself and cussing. My arms now free and working, I shoved him off of me and rolled sideways off the bed, red-faced and mad as hell. I was glad I hadn't taken my shoes off, 'cause I was about to use them to smash his 'precious' family jewels.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" I shouted. I must've been _really_ mad, because it wasn't like me to say the word 'fuck' at other people, but I didn't really care at the moment. "Trying to take advantage of me; I should kick your ass, you pervert!"

"T-Take advantage of you?!" Kenshin sputtered, somehow managing to straighten himself, still limping, however. "I didn't even do anything to you!"

"Maybe that's because I woke up before you could!"

"What did you think I was going to do, fuck you?"

His blunt words and half-amused tone only added fuel to my fire. I stomped straight up to him, grinding my teeth.

"What did you expect me to think, huh?! What would you think if you woke up with someone on top of you with one less article of clothing on you than you had before you fell asleep?!" I hissed at him, right in his face. He matched my glare with an unreadable stare of his own, his eyebrows raised. He was taller than me, even while in a limp. It was hard to make a threat when the person you're talking to when they're taller than you, but I wasn't about to back off.

He didn't have anything to add to my last question, and so it was a battle of eyes for the next minute or so—a battle I was sure I was losing. His eyes remained distant and cloudy, yet still sharp and unwavering. I couldn't explain it. Just like I couldn't explain why I felt like I was cooling off.

That's when the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of Kenshin's laughter. He turned his head away, still laughing. My calming ire rose again.

"What's so funny?" I snapped. I hated it when people laughed at me, which I was pretty sure he was doing. He ignored me, still laughing. "Dammit, Kenshin, answer me!"

He finally stopped. "Oh, sorry, did I 'ruin the moment'? I can't stare at someone that long without laughing."

"Well, this isn't funny, so you can just--"

Suddenly, someone pounded on our door. I shot Kenshin one last frustrated look before heading for the door, grabbing my discarded sweater before stalking towards the door.

"Hello?" I greeted, forcing my voice back to politeness. 

"Missy?" Sano questioned. "That was _you_?"

Oh, great. This was just the icing on the cake that was my day. "Sano, you came at a bad time," I bit out. "Could you consider coming back later?"

"We heard shouting, and Fox told me to go tell the neighbors to keep it down…"

"Sano, this is important…"

"So what were you two yelling about?" Sano stepped past me.

If there was one thing I didn't need, it was Sano making fun of me about something he knew nothing about. So I decided to stop it in its tracks.

"This isn't any of your business, Sano," I growled, throwing a defiant look in Kenshin's direction, daring him to tell Sano what happened. I don't know if he caught it or not, but he limped up to us.

"Yeah, fuck off, Sano, me and Kaoru were just having a heated discussion," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I jerked away, repulsed. Could this man get any more crude?

"Well, whatever ya'll two were yelling about, could you keep it down?" Sano said. "Fox is still pissed at me for the whole luggage deal…"

"Damn, your woman has you on a leash," Kenshin said. I couldn't have said it better myself, but that was beside the point.

"You! You get out of here!" I commanded to Sano. He looked surprised at my outburst. "And you…" I turned to Kenshin. "I'm not finished with you!"

"Finished with me? What, the bed thing again, I told you--"

"If you weren't about to touch me then just what exactly were you doing?!"

"I was getting this!" he shouted back, yanking the pillow from its spot and pointing at the space underneath it.

Nothing was there.

Kenshin looked puzzled. "Whoops! Must've been the wrong bed…" I snatched the pillow from his hand and tried to hit him with it. He dodged it.

So instead I turned to the observing Sano. "I told you to go away!" I threw the pillow at him and it connected.

"Oi," he said, removing the pillow from his face. "Doing the nasty on the first date. That's just messed up."

This is exactly why I didn't want Sano to know. Frustration was eating away at what self-control I had left, and I didn't want to snap again and do something stupid.

"You know what?" I said, glaring at them both. "Just forget it." I pushed my way past them and slammed the door behind me. I made sure to make note of the room number and the floor level before I began exploring the ship.

*   *   *

The ship was larger than I expected. The 7th floor, which was where mine and Kenshin's room was, was the last floor of rooms. The 8th floor had a small karaoke stage and an enormous stage for anything called "Astoria". The 9th floor had gift shops, a casino, and the dining room, which was gigantic. The 10th floor had a massive sun deck with pools (not filled yet), hot tubs, shuffle board, and just about any other thing you could think of. On the inside of the ship on the 10th floor was a more casual dining place with a large buffet that put the one at the hotel to shame. The 11th floor was the last one, at least for the guests on the ship. It opened up to a different part of the sundeck from the 10th floor, as well as a gym and closed off, private massage tables uninhabited yet.

During my exploration, the ship finally began moving. I could barely feel it moving under my feet, and much to my surprise, I didn't feel sick at all. I had been on little motor boats and always felt sick by just riding two minutes on them. Here, it felt like normal ground. The wind, though, was an entirely different story. For a ship that seemed to move so slowly, the wind sure picked up outside.

The sun didn't seem to want to leave the sky that afternoon, and even at 7:00 that evening, it was still hanging lazily in the sky. I sat down in one of the cushioned window frames outside the casino to take a break from all that walking around. I hadn't even visited all the little side dining places and stores and I was already aching. Fortunately, I had chosen one of the less populated areas of the ship, seeing as the casino would be closed off for a few more hours. Almost everything had been closed off for the afternoon. The crew on the ship said it should and would all be opened up tomorrow morning.

With a sigh I removed my shoes and stretched my legs out. It wasn't uncommon to see people waltzing around barefoot in pajamas or bathing suits. The people made it their home like the ship's crew told them to.

Though I was exhausted, I was anything but tired (try and make sense outta that people…). After the concussion, the nap, and especially the rude awakening I had received, I was ready to stay awake the whole trip if I had to.

"Hey, I know you," someone said. I turned from the window to face her. It was Misao. "You're with Kenshin, the redheaded guy, right?"

I didn't want to be known as the girl with Kenshin-that's what I least wanted to be. "It's Kaoru. So, having fun? Where's Aoshi?" I said, trying to strike up conversation.

"That's who I was looking for," Misao said, looking disappointed. "I thought you might know where he was… It takes a while for my medication to kick in and I guess I must've lost him before it did… So how are you? Are you having fun, yet?"

"You could say that," I muttered.

"And, uhm, no offense, but your hair is really messed up," she said with a smile, offering me a brush from her purse.

I sighed with relief, accepting it. I didn't care who gave me a brush, as long as they weren't a complete stranger who I couldn't bitch at later if I my hair started falling out later on. I brushed my hair, using the glass of the window as a mirror.

"Thanks a lot," I said while pinning my hair back with a ribbon that I had previously wrapped around my wrist. I handed her the brush. "Kinda windy, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. I whipped someone twice with my braid on accident." she grinned. She suddenly glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Well, I gotta find Aoshi before it gets too late—I don't even know where my room is."

I felt sympathy for Misao. Though it could be funny at times, it must really suck to have A.D.D. 

She turned to leave. "Wait!" I called. "I'll help you look."

I stood up and walked up to her. She smiled her thanks and we continued together down the hall.

*   *   *

3 hours of walking…and still nothing…

"Aoshi sure gets around, doesn't he?" I joked feebly. Misao didn't respond. She seemed to be interested by the people walking by. I guessed her medication was wearing off. I took her hand and pulled her along. "Misao? Don't you think it would be best if you took some of your medicine again?"

"Medicine? Okay, I left it in the room…" She turned around and started walking back towards the stairs we had just descended.

I grabbed her hand. "I thought you didn't know where your room was," I said doubtfully, pulling her back.

"Hey, Missy!"

Oh, no.

"Where've you been?" Sano grinned. "I thought you were with Kenshin, seeing as--"

"Shut up, you dumb jerk," I growled, trying to hold Misao's wrist without breaking it. "I'm kinda busy, so if you don't mind…"

"Looking for Aoshi, weasel?" Sano said. Misao stopped looking at the passerby and slowly turned to Sano.

Then, as quick as lighting, Misao attacked Sano. "Who are you calling a weasel, you big rooster-head!?" she yelled trying to punch Sano. Sano only smiled and put a hand on her head, keeping her at arms distance. 

"Look over there," he said calmly, pointing in the direction of the stairs. Misao turned to look.

Aoshi was walking down the stairs, looking frustrated as he looked at an upside-down map. He must've noticed our staring at him and he lifted his eyes to our group.

"Misao?"

"Aoshi?"

"What a lovely reunion!" Sano sighed girlishly, clasping his hands together. "I wish I had brought my camera. Though, I'll admit they're not as cute a couple as you and Kenshin." He nudged me, wiggling his eyebrows.

I made an irritated sound and punched his arm. Aoshi took Misao's hand and thanked me and Sano before leading Misao away, muttering angrily about ships, boats, and anything else that floated on water.

I wish Sano had been as easy to shake off. He followed me as I walked upstairs, pestering me for a total of 4 floors before I finally rounded on him.

"What is your problem?!" I yelled. "Go bother someone else!"

"Well, I would be bothering your boyfriend," he said, ignoring my twitching at the word 'boyfriend', "but he gets too violent. If I were you, I'd be careful about getting intimate with that guy…he might accidentally strangle you."

My eyes widened with understanding and I felt my face go hot. "_You sick pervert_!" I stuttered. "What makes you think--"

"Hey, I didn't say be abstinent, I said--"

"I heard what you said! Get away from me!" I pushed him and stomped off. It generally took a lot to get me mad, but those two idiots knew how to press the right buttons, and the fact they could do that pissed me off even more.

I felt Sano following me, but I tried to ignore him as I walked out onto the dark sundeck. There were people all over the place, and I hoped to lose the doofus in the big crowd. Just when I thought I had finally shaken him off and stopped to lean on the railing, I found him leaning next to me.

"Why are you following me? Why don't you go bother Kenshin?" I sighed in an annoyed tone. Sano grinned.

"I already told you. Besides, he went to go take a cold shower so he could restrain himself from ravishing you in public when he sees you."

"Sano, if you don't shut the hell up right now, I'm going to go tell your little fox that you're having an affair with me, " I threatened, hoping it would work. Both me and Sano knew what a jealous person Megumi was, and she'd probably believe me if Sano objected.

"That's playing dirty, Missy," Sano suddenly whined. I smirked.

"And your jokes aren't?"

"Not if they're true," Sano said, unable to restrain himself, I guess. I turned on my heel.

"Where are you going?" he said, ready to tail me.

"None of your business… And if you know what's good for your relationship, it never will be your business." I stalked off towards the doors to the inside.

"Fine, fine, I'll stay here…" Sano said, backing off with his hands put up in surrender.

"Good boy." I left him there and went to the elevators.

*   *   *

First challenge handled. The second one was going to be the real challenge. I stood outside our door, contemplating it's qualities for a moment.

"Get a grip on yourself," I growled to myself. "He won't touch you, and if he tries to, just break your foot in his balls again and have done with it."

I unlocked the door and peered in an almost cautious manner. "Kenshin? Are you here?"

It was too dark to see anything, so I groped around the wall for the light switch. After finally finding it and flipping it, I looked around the room. Everything looked like it had been before, only our luggage was on the floor.  Then I noticed the figure sitting in the corner.

 Kenshin was sitting against the wall, cross-legged. His head was bowed and his hair was undone and wet, not to mention all over the place, so I couldn't really see his face.

…What was he doing?

I crouched down next to him, my guard still up just in case this was another joke. "Hello? Kenshin?"

Sleeping. That's weird. What, did he not sleep in beds or something?

"Kenshin…" I reached out to wake him.

Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I jumped, of course, but he didn't seem to notice. He slowly looked up, his eyes narrowed, but when they met mine, they widened.

"Shit, woman, you scared me!" he said. I blinked, and then frowned.

"Me?! You're the one sitting all quiet and nice on the floor one minute, then all "Boo!" the next," I argued, removing my hand quickly. "What are you doing down there, anyways?"

"I was sleeping," he said with a 'duh!' sort of tone. He got up and stretched. That's when I noticed he was shirtless.

No, it wasn't the fact that he didn't have seem to have any excess fat on his body or the fact that he looked just a teensy bit more desirable without a shirt on that attracted my attention, but it was the scars that dotted his upper body. Goodness, he looked like a tiger!

He suddenly noticed me staring and paused in mid-stretch.

"Something you find attractive?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

I ignored his comment and questioned, "How'd you get all of those?" Then I clapped a hand over my mouth. Just because he was impolite didn't mean I had to be. "Sorry, that was a personal question…Don't answer that."

He looked like he was going to, but shut his mouth when I said that. He shrugged and turned around. Throwing open the curtains, he climbed into the accommodating frame of the window and stared at the rushing water outside.

I stared at Kenshin's back, mentally tracing each of the unhealed scars. Ouch. They looked painful. And with his burning red hair spilling messily over them, it gave the impression they were bleeding. Ouch. For some reason they looked twice as painful with that thought.

I shook my head and tried to find something else to look at. His hair proved to be an interesting substitute. It cascaded down his back and shoulders and ended up all over the place. I tried to imagine him without long hair.

…

Ew…

So there was no denying that Kenshin did look a little feminine with long hair, but I couldn't see him without it (that's why the end of the whole series sucks! …Oops, sorry, don't mind me…). Shiny and soft, it was. Well, actually, that soft part was just a guess. I wondered if it was. I wanted to comb it. I wanted to braid it. I wanted to touch it.

…

That _had _to be a bad sign. I shook my head again, a little more violently this time. I needed to get my mind off of things.

…So much for a relaxing vacation. 

A shower. That's what I needed. I got up and went to my bags. Retrieving my personal items, I headed for the bathroom.

*   *   *

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom dressed in a bathrobe, the cold air biting my skin. Kenshin was gone. Figures. He should be the one with A.D.D., seeing as he never sits in one place for one second. I went to the window and sat where he had been sitting.

The water was a dark blue, much prettier than it had been earlier. The sky was just as dark and pretty as the water, cloudless and packed with stars. I wondered what would happen if someone dropped into the water. They'd probably get left behind. I shivered. Dying alone out in the sea. And to think how it all started when that person simply bought a ticket to ride a luxury cruise ship.

How ironic.

I hated water. Not showering or drinking water, not like that. I meant oceans and big bodies of water. I couldn't swim to save my life. Literally.

I pressed my hands against the glass and looked at the water a little more closely before climbing out of the window frame and sitting in the bed I had slept in this afternoon. I checked it before lying down, though, looking for any items that might belong to Kenshin. There wasn't anything.

Next time he wouldn't have an excuse for trying to violate me. Not like I bought his first story anyway.

The water and Kenshin's stupid excuse was the last thing I thought about before falling into a strangely uneasy sleep.

'…Southern California meeting mommy's little monster'…Whoops, sorry folks, I was listening to Blink 182. (Sprites for everybody who likes them! wOOt wOOt!)

Doubly AN- wOOt! Well, that's that. Thanks to those who reviewed, again, and thanks to those who read and to those who plan to review and/or read. Gah…outta breath… Anyways, like I said first chapter, I've been on this cruise before and that's what I remember the ship looks like. So, for those of you who haven't been (I recommend you go!), please try and use your imaginations. Imagine a slice of heaven, 'cause that's what it's like! Anyways, don't want these notes to be too long, so I better leave! Thanks again, you're a beautiful audience! *muah*muah*!

Please review…I'll love you forever! I'll give you…uhm… well, you can pretend I'll give you lot of money! That's all this idiot asks of you!


	3. Chapter 3

AN-Late update…My bad, folks! I was stumped on how to end this chapter, so I shaved off about one-half of it. Rule One-don't make ridiculously long chapters. Ha. Anyways, I wouldn't read this chapter if you're a Megumi-liker-person (she's OOC out of the wOOt! I'm a Megumi hater, grr!). It's a little serious for what I had originally planned for this fic, but yeah… Well, then…go ahead and read…and review! wOOt! (yes, I am addicted to that word, shut up and wOOt away...) I'd appreciate it, would that be enough? Heh…

I couldn't breathe.

It was like floating around in space. There wasn't any definite direction, there wasn't any ground, and there wasn't anywhere.                                                          

There was no air.

So this is what drowning was like. It was like a vacuum placed over your face, sucking every last breath out of you. My lungs burned for oxygen as they filled up with water. My vision became groggy and my thoughts detached.

Someone was shaking me, telling me it would be okay.

How could they say that? I was dying. It would not be okay.

They wouldn't stop, even though I was trying to tell them. Stop shaking me, stop calling me, and stop telling me lies…

*   *   *

"Kaoru! Kaoru! Wake up! God dammit, Kaoru, wake up!" A sting of pain shot through my cheek. I suddenly felt the pressure on my upper arms and the weight on my abdomen.

"Stop…Stop it…" I choked, trying to focus on the face hovering over mine. Wide yellow eyes glared at me.

"Breathe, Kaoru!" a voice ordered. What did they think I was trying to do? I tried to inhale, but my lungs wouldn't seem to work. I tried harder to concentrate on the person over me, but it was too dark to see much of anything.

Unwavering eyes continued to stare at me. Then, I remembered.

"K-Kenshin?" I managed to gasp out. The grip on my upper arms loosened considerably.

"Damn, girl, what the fuck were you dreaming? You started--"

"Get off…" His weight lifted itself off of me and I tumbled out of the bed. I found one of my bags on the floor and sorted through it, hoping it was the one I was looking for.

My hand closed around my inhaler and I immediately brought it to my mouth. After inhaling twice with it, I dropped it back into my bag, coughing a little. I felt Kenshin's eyes burning into my back.

"You have asthma?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I only have to use it after dreams like that," I replied, still a little shaken from the whole happening. I took a deep shaky breath. I had just had the dream and I was already starting to forget it. I pressed my hands into the lids of my eyes, indecisive if I wanted to forget the dream or not.

"What were you dreaming anyways? You scared the fuckin' shit outta me, getting all wheezy and crap… I thought you were dying," Kenshin said.

"I probably would have…" I said through my hands. "Thanks a lot…"

"You have dreams like that often?" he asked quietly. I sensed the anxious concern in his voice and I shook my head slowly.

"Don't worry about it," I replied as evenly as I could. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

I knew I was a horrible liar, but he hopped back onto his bed and didn't say anything else. Either way, I crawled miserably back into my own bed, fully aware of the yellowish gaze warily watching me. I was also avidly conscious of my own growing worry.

I hoped that dream didn't mean what I think it did. A long time ago I had started having dreams like these. I went to a psychologist about the whole deal and he told me I was just "re-living childhood trauma". I personally thought he was a quack, but my real doctor said it was better to be safe than sorry. He prescribed me some anti-depressants and an inhaler.

The anti-depressants? Oh, that's what my psychologist said was causing the whole deal. When I got too depressed or stressed, I would start having these dreams. Dreams of death and what-not. Oh, well. I didn't care too much about it because they finally started going away.

I sighed and ran an exasperated hand through my tangled hair. Was I stressed about something? Sure, I had been a little weary lately what with the new job and all, but I wouldn't really call it stress.

Oh, well. I decided to simply take some medicine tomorrow and stop worrying about…well, whatever I was obviously worrying about. I laid back down, hoping I wouldn't have any more dreams.

*   *   *                                                                                               

I woke up the next morning feeling sore and more exhausted than I had in a while. It took a moment for my eyes to get used to the bright light (Matchbox 20! Oop…forget I said that…) filtering through the window. I had a half mind to get up and shut the curtains and go back to sleep, but I decided to not be lazy today. I sat up slowly and groaned. It should be against the law for it to be so intensely bright at… whatever hour it was.

"Good morning," a voice said from beside me. I turned my head, still blinking from the sunlight. My eyes met with Kenshin's, his lively ones deeply contrasting the dull tiredness of mine. Then, it occurred to me that he was hanging upside down, his hair flying all over the place.

"What are you doing?" I asked, eyeing his red face. He shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head, looking perfectly content with the fact that all his blood was rushing to his head. My gaze traveled up his black shirt, hanging limply around his upper chest due to gravity, up past his scarred stomach, loose boxers, and thin legs to find his feet comfortably lodged in one of the spaces in our metal ceiling.

Our ceiling design was kind of hard to explain. It was all metal, painted a softer tan. However, instead of being one big square of metal being placed over the room, it was applied in thick "planks". There were carefully measured with spaces about two inches wide between each of them. They shouldn't have done that. They should've known idiots could get trapped in them. And here was proof in front of me here…

I should fill out one of those complaint sheets.

"I'm just hanging around. Kinda got stuck," Kenshin replied to my earlier question. His eyes looked me up and down like I had just done to him. "And, uh, I can see down your front, by the way…"

"Pervert," I snapped, pushing him away with one hand. I stood up and turned around, ignoring his mid-air thrashing as he tried to regain his "balance".

After I fixed my robe that had somehow managed to get loose during the night, I turned around just in time to see Kenshin fall to the ground with a painful 'thud'. I hoped the people downstairs didn't come up here and complain.

"Fuck…I think I broke my feet..." he groaned from the twisted pile of himself lying on the floor. I peeked over the edge of my bed to look down at him. He spotted me. "And, yeah, I'm still alive, thanks for asking."

I snorted. "Oh, darn, there goes my hope." I stood up and stretched. He stared at me, transfixed. My arms instinctively crossed over my chest as I asked, "What?"

Kenshin held up a hand. "Shhh… Do you hear that?"

I stilled and listened. "I can't hear…"

"I hear…blackmail! Whooo!" He untangled himself and ran to the far wall, where he put his ear against it and sat quietly. I rolled my eyes and headed for the bathroom to take a shower…again. Hey, I can't help it if I feel like shit in the morning.

After my shower I was greeted with the sight of Kenshin, now fully dressed, and Sano beating the living daylights out of each other. They suddenly stopped in mid-fight as I cleared my throat, and then they jumped off the floor, no longer fighting. Sano had a black eye and a very red cheek, and Kenshin's hair was more messed up than it was when he was hanging upside down from our ceiling.

Kenshin suddenly whistled suggestively, and I began to feel very self-conscious of the length of the towel wrapped around me. Sano smirked.

"My, but you're straight-forward, Missy. Should I leave you two alone now?" he asked slyly. I threw him a glare, trying to ignore Kenshin's staring.

"You should leave," I growled. "What the hell are you doing here, Sano?"

"His sugar mommy kicked him out," Kenshin laughed, no longer gazing.

"I'm about to kick you out," Sano snapped, turning to Kenshin again.

"Try it, bitch," Kenshin replied, grinning. He put his fists up and faced Sano.

"Will you two stop it!?" I yelled. Sano stopped advancing on Kenshin, who hid his fists behind his back. "Sano, seriously, what are you doing here?"

Sano shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Uhm, me and Fox kind of got in a fight..."

Uh, oh. Something's not right here. "And how is that different from any other day?" Please, don't say she kicked him out, please don't say she kicked him out, please don't say...

"She kicked him out," Kenshin snickered. He surprisingly stopped when I glared at him. Sano gave him a second glare.

"No, she didn't!" he protested hotly. Phew, I thought– "She just wants a little time alone is all..."

Damn it. "So what are you going to do now?" I asked, fully expecting him to say he was going to stay with us...which wasn't going to happen.

"Nothing," he said defiantly.

Kenshin laughed again. "You shouldn't let her push you around like that. You should say something like, 'Fuck off, you little whore.'" My eyes went flat and I stared at him, unbelieving. "What?" he asked, staring straight back at me. "She does look like a whore."

One would have thought Sano would've gotten mad as hell at Kenshin for calling his girlfriend that. But Sano only raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

"Would you call _her_ that?" he asked, indicating me with his eyes. Kenshin looked at me.

"Kaoru wouldn't try and kick me out, would you, Kaoru?" he asked in an innocent tone.

I gave him my 'You're kidding, right?' look. "No, I wouldn't dream of ever doing that to you, love," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, she wouldn't want to lose her sex bu--"

"Finish that sentence and you will never have sex again, rooster," I warned. It wasn't an empty threat either; I was ready to beat the crap out of someone and Sano looked like perfect stress relief.

Stress...dreams...medicine... I almost forgot. "Now, would you do us the pleasure of *_getting the hell out of our room_*!" I shouted. "I need to get dressed..."

Sano smiled. "I'm sure Kenshin likes the outfit you're in now..."

"I'm not complaining." Kenshin smirked. Embarrassment crept into my face, my hand tightening on the towel around me. I thought at least he would support me, but nooo...we just all had to pick on Kaoru, didn't we? "But I'm pretty sure you will like my fist in your face," he added to Sano. Sano got up from his sitting position on the floor in response to his threat.

I grabbed Sano's hand and dragged him to the door. Two minutes later I slammed the door in his face, sighing with a mixture of relief and stress.

I turned around, suddenly becoming very conscious of the man sitting across from me. His eyes were trained on me, and though I wasn't one to turn down attention, his stare was unnerving.

"What?" I asked, the hint of a blush running across the bridge of my nose. He shook his head and some of his auburn hair fell onto his shoulders. Noticing this, Kenshin frowned, looking up at his bangs.

"Fucker messed up my hair," he grumbled, trying to fix this said damage. Any previous tension that had been in the room slowly slipped away and I grasped the opportunity.

"Could you last one day without saying the word fuck every two seconds?" I asked plainly, walking over to one of my bags.

"Of course I could," Kenshin said, finally dropping his hands from his hair. I rolled my eyes and he somehow caught the motion. "What, you don't think I can do it?"

"No, that's not what I was thinking," I said. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'I _know_ you can't do it.'" I went towards the bathroom again with my clothes and brush in one hand.

"Oh, yeah? I bet you I could!" he shouted after me as I shut the door.

I dressed in a pair of white shorts, a black tank top, and an over-shirt and exited the bathroom, pulling my hair into a high ponytail as I did. "Okay, then," I said. "Don't cuss for the rest of today and I'll be happy to believe you."

            Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "That's not what you said..."

"Well, if you don't think you can do it..."

"That's not what I said!"

I threw the towel over a chair in the corner in the room and began searching in my bag for my medicine. Kenshin watched me, arms folded over his chest in a gesture of rebelliousness. 

"Are you sure you're up to it?" I questioned in a challenging tone. He nodded. I guess he couldn't trust himself to speak. I pulled my medication out of the bag and stood up, pocketing the item. "Well, then, shall we go get breakfast?"

I made sure to check for my key card before I walked out, Kenshin tailing me.

*   *   *

Breakfast went by fast. By the time we had finished it, it was already 2:00. So I guess you could call it lunch. Much to my surprise, Kenshin hadn't spoken a word the whole time. Instead, he made hand motions and nodded or shook his head in response to conversation.

After breakfast I went to the sundeck and leaned on the railing, looking down at the rushing water. It was a dark blue and the foam was a lighter blue. It really was a beautiful sight...from this point of view.

"Isn't the water pretty?" someone inquired. I turned and saw a black haired boy admiring the ocean below from beside me.

"Yeah, it is. I don't really like water, though. Have we met?" My eyes traveled up and down his body, trying to remember who he was. I knew I had heard his voice somewhere...

"Hi, Kaoru!" Misao suddenly seemed to pop out from nowhere, but I think she had materialized from somewhere behind the boy.

"Hey," I greeted, waving slightly. Misao smiled.

"I see you've met Sou-chan!" she said happily hugging the boy. Sou-chan... That's right!

"You're Seta Soujirou?" I asked. He nodded, a look of felicity spreading on his face when I remembered his name.

"He's my cousin," Misao explained. "Isn't he cute?!"

I gave a half-hearted smile to Soujirou, who had blushed a bit.

"I don't see him much, so we're going to spend all the time we can together!" Misao grinned, taking Soujirou's hand. "Well, I just came back to get Sou...I'm supposed to go eat with lunch Aoshi now, so I'll talk to you later. Bye!"

Misao then turned around, dragging Soujirou with her. He smiled haplessly and waved good-bye, allowing Misao to pull him away. I watched them for a minute, then turned to the observing Kenshin. He pointed at someone behind me.

Sano was walking up to us. I sighed.

"Don't you have something else to do besides follow us around?" I snapped. Then, I looked at his face. "What happened to your face?"

His cheeks were both red. Maybe he was just blushing, but if I didn't know better I'd say he'd gotten a good smacking. Kenshin laughed quietly from behind me.

"Never mind that," Sano said crossly. "Have you seen Fox around here?"

"Megumi? I don't think so. Why?"

"Shit..." Sano cursed. I could see Kenshin shaking from the effort of trying to not laugh out loud. I guess he didn't trust himself to even laugh. Sano somehow noticed this and shot a glare at him.

"Shut the hell up," he snapped. Kenshin looked momentarily surprised before his mouth shot open to respond. Then it closed. And opened...and closed again. He looked frustrated. With one last defeated glare at me and Sano he crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. I grinned, and Sano looked genuinely confused.

"What's the matter?" Sano asked him, raising an eyebrow. Kenshin loosened one of his arms so he could flick off Sano, which he did. Then, he crossed his arms again and continued brooding.

"Nothings wrong with him, right Kenshin?" I said airily. Kenshin's eyes rolled slowly towards me and he flicked me off too, backing the gesture up with a litigious look. "See? Well, we haven't seen your girlfriend, so we'll be seeing you later." I turned to leave and both of them followed me.                                                                                          

"Missy, you gotta help me find her!" Sano yelled after me. I slowly looked at him over my shoulder.

"Karma's a real bitch, isn't it, rooster?" I smiled. Sano looked lost.

"You mean you're not gonna help me find her?" he guessed. I nodded.

"This is a vacation, isn't it? I'm supposed to be relaxing, not looking for lost people. I already spent 3 hours of yesterday looking for Aoshi..." I know I should help him, but he'd already pissed me off to the point of snapping, and now he was running to me for help? Ha. Laughable.

Besides, I did need to relax. Seriously. I'll be damned if I die while sleeping.

Suddenly, Sano grabbed me by the collar. He looked desperate. "Please Missy, I really need to make it up to Megitsune before tonight! It's very important!" He was shaking me slightly. Irately, I slapped his hands away. Something caught my eye and I looked up to see what it was.

"Is that what you're looking for?" I asked bluntly, pointing at a woman in a bikini one floor above us. His eyes followed my finger. Megumi was walking down the stairs towards us.

"Oh, hello!" she said, walking right past me and Sano. "Ken-san, how are you?"

Two seconds into the conversation and she was already attached firmly to his arm. That had to be a record. I twitched involuntarily and forced a smile. Sano looked like a chained dog with a mailman in his face. Kenshin looked just the slightest bit uneasy, but he didn't object.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked him, obviously ignoring both me and Sano. Sano made a strangled noise. I was struggling for patience with little success.

Kenshin didn't respond. He smiled stupidly, avidly evading eye contact with any of us. 

"Well, _Ken-san_, aren't you going to answer _her_ question?" I smiled, the corners of my mouth twitching. Kenshin risked eye contact with me and broke it abruptly. I can't imagine why...

Megumi flipped her hair "expertly" over her shoulder and spared me a humored look.

"I heard there's a party in the Astoria tonight, Ken-san..." she continued, her words directed at him but her eyes on me. "Would you like to be my 'escort'?"

At this Kenshin stuttered an incoherent reply, sounding aphasic. This time he stared right at me, waving his free arm around frantically. I didn't really care, though. I felt myself twitch again. I continued smiling painfully sweet at both of them. Megumi was either trying to piss me off or piss Sano off. Probably both. And she was doing a good job, too.

 Well, two can play at that game.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're moving on, Megumi," I said, my twitching fit over and my smile abusive. "And to think we actually worried about hurting your feelings!" Megumi arched an 'elegant' eyebrow.

"I'm afraid I don't follow you, _Kaoru_," she said haughtily, emphasizing my name with perceptible disdain. I smiled sadly, almost pityingly.

"Sano knew his relationship with you was on the rocks..." I started slowly. Megumi's eyes got a fraction wider, interest noticeably sparked. "So he thought he'd 'let you go', and ask me out, and I said 'yes'."

Basically, he ditched you and fell for me is what I wanted to add, but I think the point sunk through. It was a far tell from the truth, but the story served its purpose. Megumi looked astonished, angry and upset all at once. Then, she feigned a smile.

"Surely you're kidding," she said, waving a hand jokingly. "You couldn't possibly take me for such a fool to believe..."

"You don't believe me?" I blinked innocently, groping out blindly and entwining my hand with Sano's once I found it, who seemed to still have yet to recover from the first shock. He didn't seem to react, but his hand began tightening around mine. "Would you like me to... prove it to you?"

Megumi looked from our welded hands to my coy little smile, disbelieving. I really hoped she bought it; if I had I kiss Sano or do something of the sort I'd probably run away screaming right afterwards and it would be obvious that I was lying.

"Ken-san, would you like to go help me pick out my clothes for tonight?" Megumi asked Kenshin icily, pinnacles of hate puncturing her usually composed voice. She was basically saying, 'Kenshin would you like to go to my room and stare at me in nothing more than nipple-clamps and a thong?'(I coudn't resist that, people, please don't hold that against me!). I looked to Kenshin's face to see his response.

My smile almost fell. Almost. Kenshin was staring at Sano's hand in mine with an almost unhuman sort of hate. Sheesh. What did he care that me and Sano were 'dating'? He never went out with me and we've only known each other for a week, tops. Sano and Megumi had had an existent relationship, we had not. So why he so pissed?

Megumi shot me one last glare. "We'll see you tonight, then..." She dragged Kenshin away. Kenshin looked like he wanted to shove Megumi off of him, but I'm sure that was my imagination. He probably would've done it if he had actually wanted to.

I smiled at him. He deserved that, if he was mad. He could've stopped this whole scene if he had merely shaken off the 'little' fox in the first place. After a moment of contemplating, I finally began dragging Sano off towards what used to be mine and Kenshin's room. I was pretty sure he would stay away from it for a bit.

"Okay, Sano," I said, once I was sure they were out of earshot. "Let's go get ready for our 'date'... Sano?"

Sano was still stupefied (wOOt! Alliterations!). I was pretty sure the whole conversation had flown over his spiky head. Oh, well. I'm sure he would be okay with it...

I sighed. This was going to be a long "vacation"...

Doubly AN- Well, there it is. Don't say I didn't warn you! It sucks! Oi! Anyways, I'd like to thank all readers and reviewers and… uhm, oh yeah!

tesuka-chan- wOOt! You reviewed twice! Thank you so much! And, uhm, about the job thing, that's kind of a surprise, but I'm trying to drop teensy context clues...sorry I couldn't answer it. Thanks again for reviewing my story! Doubly wOOts for you!

mellyd- I'm trying to update faster! Really...*cough*cough* I am... Thanks a lot for reviewing! And, uh, wOOt!

Audi Daudi- Doubly wOOt! You also doubly reviwed... And, for your question...maybe I am *evasive*... You are too sharp, grrgh...Doubly thanks!

Arteme- (Plot...? What is this plot you speak of?...) Yes, it is weird that you are addicted to the crap I write *sigh* but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your reviews! I'll write faster, I promise...er...Doubly reviews, doubly wOOts!

Lazy Lime- Thank you for your review! wOOt! That's a relief, cause I'm editing my own story with little critique and criticism. I'm too proud...it handicaps me...Thanks again!

There. Reviewer responses. You know you want one... And all you have to do is review... Please!!?


	4. Chapter 4

AN- Hallo, all! I am back, wOOtie tang! (my new word…) I'm trying to keep this fic updated every week, and it's kinda hard. So please excuse meh if it starts getting doofy (I'm doing the best I can here!). Just tell me when it does and I'll try to fix it up a bit. Well, I guess that's it… Go ahead and read to your heart's content…? (What?)

Disclaimer (forgotted it last time)—I don't own RK, Marriot Hotel (forgot that), Carnival Cruise ships, or any of the listed brands, songs, movies, and bands here. My bad, that's a lot of stuff, but, hey, better to type a lot than to pay a lot, right? Right.

OOC out the wazoo! Watch it, easily-offended people!

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1"Are you done yet, Missy?"   

"No! And if you ask her that one more time I'm gonna come out there and kick your rooster butt!"

"Come and try it, weasel!"

Misao stuck her tongue out at the bathroom door. She turned to me and smiled brightly. "You look beautiful, Kaoru!"

I begged to differ. The dress was strangling me. "I can't breathe," I gagged, pulling at one of the strings around my neck. Misao only smiled more. 

"That's the point!" She unlocked the door and stepped out. "You're gonna knock them dead!" Her hand closed around mine and she pulled me out.

Sano pushed away from the wall he had been previously leaning on. "Finally, Miss..." His voice trailed away as his eyes ran over my form. Sure, I couldn't help but feel a little bit proud at the fact that he actually stared at me, but after those first initial seconds, it got annoying. It didn't help that Aoshi and Soujirou, who Misao had managed to stuff into nice clothes and drag all the way here, were on the sidelines.

"Well?" I asked, feeling indignant. Sano only nodded and Soujirou smiled warmly.

"You look nice, Kaoru-san," he said.

"Doesn't Kaoru look pretty, Aoshi?" Misao asked excitedly. Aoshi turned his emotionless stare to Misao. For a moment it seemed his eyes brightened, but if they did it was proficiently hidden.

"Ah," he said, nodding curtly. She beamed at him.

"See, Kaoru, the dress looks good on you! I'm gonna try mine on!" Misao rushed back into the bathroom. I sighed and leaned back against wall next to Sano.

I rubbed nervously at my temples. How had I gotten myself into such a predicament? My conscience was screaming at me for ever getting jealous over such a trifle of a thing. It was stupid and foolish of me. Well, here's my punishment.

"What's the matter, Missy?" Sano asked, his voice bringing me back.

I slowly turned my head to look at him. "If you mean besides the fact I have to go out with _you_ on a supposable date and try and undo the undoable damage I caused, then it's nothing, everything's fine."

"You're being sarcastic?" he asked bluntly. I put a grim smile on my face.

"What do you think? It's not my fault your ex had to be such a little..."

"Hey! Megitsune is not a bad person! She's different once you get to know her!" Sano said defensively. "Besides, it's your anata-baka's (proper grammar? What's that?) fault for stealing my fox in the first place..."

"Anata? Anata?! That perverted mop-head is not my anata!"

"Who could blame me for assuming, with the way you two look at each other?"

"What?! I do not 'look' at Kenshin in any particular way, I'll have you know!"

"Ta-da!"

Sano and me turned around to look at Misao, who had cut in. She was spinning around in her sleeveless dress. It clung to her in all the right places and made her look more adult then she usually did in her skirts and loose shirts. Though it seemed a little daring for what was supposed to be a formal party, I smiled.

"How do I look?" she asked us.

Sano snorted and she threw him an angry glare complete with tongue sticking out. Soujirou was smiling, no surprise, and he replied, "You look nice, Misao."

"I like it...a lot," I agreed. She grinned at me in thanks and turned to Aoshi.

"Do you like it, Aoshi?"

"Ah."

I really think Aoshi was starting to like Misao. His eyes were always bright when he looked at her.

How cute...and simply unfair.

"So, what are you two arguing about?" Misao asked me. I crossed arms and looked defiantly at the man standing across from me.

"She was lying to herself and I was only trying to correct her," Sano said. "She's denying her relationship with Kenshin."

"I am not!" I snapped. "And that's because there isn't a relationship!"

"There isn't?" Misao asked. I sighed.

"No... No, there isn't..." I said, my face in my hands.

"Oh," she said, thinking. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you two make a great couple!"

"We aren't a couple!" I shouted at everybody, frustrated.

"Don't you think they make a good couple, Aoshi?"

"Ah."

I can't believe this. I turned to the boy next to Aoshi desperately. "Soujirou, you don't think me and Kenshin are a couple, do you?"

He looked puzzled. "Who?"

"The red-headed guy that was standing behind her on the sundeck," Misao explained. Soujirou began mentally searching for the 'the red-headed guy that was standing behind Kaoru-san on the sundeck.'

"Soujirou doesn't count," Sano smirked. Soujirou looked glad to be excluded and he stopped thinking. "Well, if you don't have a thing for him, then why did you get so mad when Fox started flirting with him?"

I wanted to ask just why Soujirou didn't count, but that would be dragging him into something he obviously didn't want to be involved in. But, there wasn't another answer I could think of off of the top of my head. Then, I began to question myself.

Was it possible...that...?

No. Absolutely not. "And if I hadn't done anything, what would you have done?" I asked, trying to gradually change the subject. There was a pause on Sano's part.

"I...don't...know..." he said in a cryptically slow manner. He sounded astonished. I rolled my eyes. "I kinda zoned out."

"Figures," I said. "You're more jealous than 'your' fox."

"Not uh."

"Okay, enough of that!" Misao yelled, clearing her throat loudly. She pulled at the elastic band holding her braid and her hair began falling back into its natural position. Her hands raked through it, destroying the long braid. Wavy from the style it had previously been in, it fell down her back in soft ripples of black. I grinned inwardly as I watched Aoshi observing intently. Misao suddenly turned around impatiently, causing Aoshi to avert his blue gaze.

"Kaoru!" she whined. "Fix my hair! Please? I don't know what to do with it..."

"What's the matter with the way it is now?" I asked, gesturing it with a wave of my hand. Misao idly toyed with the ends of her hair.

"I dunno...It feels weird..."

I laughed. "Alright. Come here and let's see what we can do. But, I warn you, I'm no hair stylist..."

*   *   *

It was 9:30 by the time we arrived in the Astoria. I had convinced Misao to keep her hair down. She really did look good, and even Aoshi seemed to be enjoying himself...well, as best as he could without outwardly expressing it. Soujirou had tried to get away, saying he felt like a fifth wheel, but Misao caught him and made him stay. So he stayed, giving off "I don't want to be here" vibes, but politely trying to hold them back.

Soujirou wasn't the only one. It seemed like such a good idea at the time when I had said it, but now... now it seemed like the stupidest thing I had ever heard. I don't even know why Megumi liked the idiot. He was obnoxious and loud, and it annoyed me to no end. Doctors said I didn't have claustrophobia; now I said I did. I suffocated under his arm. Maybe it was just Sanophobia.

Any who, the night turned from bad to worse. I couldn't spot Kenshin or Megumi anywhere, which was half the reason for our coming here. And then they started serving free alcohol... You can guess what happened from there on.

Well, in case you can't...

It was around 11 that things actually seemed to get 'interesting'...in a bad way. From 9:30 to 10 people had been still coming in the auditorium; 10 to 10:50 the captain had went up on stage and got everybody all quiet. He introduced a bunch of crew members and stuff...anyway, it was boring. Then, photographers from the crew had started taking pictures of everybody.

Soujirou and I had instantly suggested we leave like many others had started to do, but there was Misao, who insisted we get one. So then...mou, it was horrible! Let's just leave it at we got our picture taken.

Well, _then_, people were invited on stage to dance all "lovely" like to slow music. Misao told Aoshi she'd dance with him–but she had to dance with 'Sou-chan' first, because he'd run away if she didn't. So Aoshi "Ah"-ed and sat patiently awaiting Misao's return while I tried to sneak a little closer to stage to see if I could spot Kenshin or Megumi. I couldn't. Unfortunately, I did spot a tipsy (e'erybody in the club gettin' tipsy...ha, ignore me, I need to stop doing this...) rooster lounging languidly next to some other woman, which made me feel very happy for a moment, but then I noticed she looked uncomfortable so I decided to go save her.

After that I wished someone would save me. Misao caught up to me and what I had first thought to be a rescue turned out to be a "out of the frying pan into the fire" type of situation; she suggested that me and Sano dance. ("It's really a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it!")

Once Sano whole-drunken-heartedly agreed to the idea, there was no getting out of it. So I was forced to endure around five or six whole minutes of being twirled and thrown around like a doll, stepping on people's feet, and muttering sorry to everybody that had the misfortune of running into either me or Sano... being that it was technically us that ran into them.

My only salvation was that I knew no one saw me, but then this one guy had the courtesy to tell his friends on how it was being recorded as we speak, to be shown tomorrow night to all the TVs on the ship on one of the cruise's channels, in front of me. And being that there were only five channels, three movie ones and two cruise-sponsored ones, on the TV, I wasn't feeling too great.

Exhausted, I finally sat down on one of the couches (see, on the cruise ship there isn't just foldy like chairs to sit on in a normal stage, there's lots of little couches and stuff with small tables...just imagine a lot of little circular breakfast nook things everywhere. It's hard to explain, please bear with me!) in our area, reflecting on all the events that had forever been etched into the confines of my brain. Soujirou was sitting there, looking awfully dizzy, apparently too lightheaded to leave. Misao had mentioned a seven minute polka song–I guess he was the end result. The fact that she had stuffed a few drinks into him beforehand couldn't have helped, either.

He squinted at me. "Kaoru-san, is that you?"

"Yes, it is."

Soujirou smiled woozily. "Having fun?" I was about to reply with 'You could say that', but I knew that was a terrible lie.

So I said,"Misao is." and left it at that.

Speaking of which...

Misao suddenly twirled into the scene, spinning around happily. Aoshi walked calmly behind her, his lazuline eyes glinting in the dark. He sat down silently and Misao followed suit, sitting next to him and leaning on his shoulder. 

"Whoo, I have never had such fun!" she exclaimed. I smiled. Only Misao could make what was supposed to be a formal 'party' seem upbeat and wild. But now, it looked as if she was ready to rest.

Aoshi put his hand on her head. It was really a cute scene. Sano chose that moment to waltz in, grinning like an idiot. He sat next to me. I scooted closer to Soujirou, who scooted closer to Misao, who didn't notice; her eyes were closed.

Sano observed for a moment, then he shouted, "Why is everyone so quiet!?"

I shot him a glare. He noticed and scrutinized me for a while before brightening up a bit with what looked like an idea.

"'Ey, 'ey, Missy, I been lookin' for ya..." he said excitedly. "Well, Megitsune has...she has..." His voice trailed off and he looked lost in thought.

My ears had long since been perked when he mentioned Megumi and I began taking him seriously. "Well, what'd she say to you? And what did you say?" I asked.

Sano stared at me. I think his train of thought was still boarding at the station. "Uh... she said... she said..."

"Sano..." I ground my teeth. "You didn't run into Megumi and tell her something extremely stupid, did you?"

"I can't remembah wha' she said," he mumbled inarticulately. "I said...uh..."

I stood up, a thread of self-control holding me back from knocking Sano into next week. "What did you tell her?"

"I... dunno... Want somethin' ta drink?" he finally said.

I couldn't believe it. I had sat through this whole night, enduring what had to be the worst time of my life...and all for what? For nothing... all for nothing.

If I stood there, looking into Sano's glazed-over eyes for one more second, I was bound to snap. I snatched up my purse and stomped off towards the exit, determinedly ignoring Sano calling me.

My feet managed to carry me all the way to the sundeck, where there was barely enough artificial light for me to check my watch.

12:58. I looked around. There was barely anyone out. Strange, I was sure there would still be a lot of people out and around. I guess most of them were sill in the Astoria or in the casino or at the other places...

Well, I guess since there were no festivities going on outside, no one hung around. 

I idly wondered about, feeling forlorn and depressed for some strange reason. Ha. Some vacation I was having. And "getting along with my fellow actors"? Haha. I got Soujirou, Misao, and Aoshi down. Great. Only about a million more to go, not to mention Megumi, Sano, and Kenshin, my momentary enemies of sort.

I turned around the corner, the wind hitting my back and scattering my hair everywhere as I walked alongside the shuffleboard area. Sticks and pucks littered the place and I was careful to walk around them.

There was virtually no one at the end of the ship. The kids' pool had been filled, but it was abandoned, as well as the downstairs daycare and ping-pong tables. The 11th floor sundeck overlooked the 10th floors', casting what would be noticeable shade over the pool and tables, had there been any sun at the moment. I walked out from under the top floor.

That's when I noticed him. There he was, leaning against the railing, looking out at the water. My mind instantly set off in different directions.

I shouldn't bother him.

What? Wait, I had been looking for him all night, and here I was just going to turn my back on him? I should go up to him and smack him.

And yell at him for making me suffer so much...

Where's Megumi? Is she with him...? Sano had seen her, not him...

More importantly, where are his shoes?

...And what is he doing?

Kenshin looked like he was hoisting himself up onto the railing. But if that's what he was doing, then wouldn't that mean...?

I didn't know what to do, so I guess some sort of 'somebody's about to commit suicide!' instinct of mine took over. I ran up to where he was as he stood up on the railing, grabbed his hair, and pulled it hard.

I barely managed to avoid getting fallen on (again) by side-stepping him as he fell towards the floor. Surprisingly, his hands shot out and he performed a funny sort of backwards cartwheel instead of hitting the floor (like any normal person would have), landing awkwardly and having to bounce around on one foot for a moment before regaining total control of his feet. His golden eyes, glowing radiantly in the dark of night, were wide and surprised as they pierced through me. He let out a long breath.

"Holy shit, woman, what the fuck were you doing?!" he sighed out in a breathless voice, running an apprehensive hand through his red hair, messing it up more effectively than the wind was. "You almost fucking killed me...fuck, that was scary..."

"What? I saved you! You...Weren't you..." I staggered over my words, opening my mouth and closing it faster than I could think. "You were about to jump off of the...the-the thing...and I... I... mou..."

"Jump?" Kenshin released a hollow laugh. "I don't think so..."

"Well...Well, then what the heck were you doing?!" My voice rose to a shout. He shrugged recklessly.

"Nothing," he said flatly, turning to the railing again. "Wanna try it? It's a lot of fun." He climbed up and crouched on the railing again, ready to stand. I grabbed his arm.

"Are you crazy!? How do I know you won't kill yourself? And what are you doing?! ...Kenshin!"

Kenshin rose slowly, my grip weakening with disbelief. "Don't worry, I'll be fine..." he said reassuringly. He stared right into my eyes, topaz burning holes into them. I don't know what was happening, but it felt oddly like I was beginning to believe him. And then... and then my hand betrayed me and let go. Of all the dirty... _traitor_!

Smiling at me before he turned, Kenshin started walking on the wooden surface of the railing, his arms out like he was on a balance beam in a playground. My eyes couldn't have gotten any wider if they wanted to. It was like watching a stupid little kid play on train tracks. Of course, some people would laugh at the dumb dork as he got hit, saying stuff like 'that's what ya get, stupid kid!' Unfortunately I found it really, _really_, hard to laugh. Every step he took made me envision him a foot closer to the surface of the water. I choked on my worry and followed him (feet still on the deck, of course) hurriedly.

When he had reached the corner, he leaped off of it and landed nimbly on his bare feet. "Ta-da!"

I caught up to him. Before he could even say anything, I punched his shoulder.

"_Are you insane_!? You scared the crap out of me, you know that!?" I swung my purse at the back of his head and it connected. "Do you like playing with death or something?"

He flashed a grin through his painful grimaces. "Well, occasionally... when I'm bored..." Kenshin avoided my right fist and caught my left wrist. "I told you I'd be alright. You didn't believe me?"

"No, I didn't!" I yelled roguishly.

"Then why did you let go?"

"...What?"

"Why'd you let go of me if you didn't believe me?"

"I..." I wanted to say that it wasn't my fault, that my hand had developed a mind of its own and let go all by itself, but I knew that wasn't true. But I couldn't explain it. Just like I couldn't explain why I had thrown a hissy fit over Megumi when she took him by the arm...

No...No, I knew what it meant, but I wasn't about to admit it...

"I don't know..." I said quietly, looking guiltily down at my feet. He let go of my wrist. We stood in silence for a moment.

"Wanna try it?" he suddenly asked. I looked up quickly, blinking dubiously.

"Try what? Wa-Walking on _that_?" I indicated the rail with my eyes. He nodded. 

"It's really fun," he said, trying to sound convincing. 

I responded by shaking my head vigorously. Kenshin smiled, then crouched down and put an arm around the back of my knees. My eyes widened and I felt a blast of heat in my face and neck. He stood up, causing my knees to bend and the rest of me to fall backwards. His other arm caught me, wrapping around my back.

I wanted to kick his head and scream at him, but I felt like I had run a mile in two minutes–no, _seconds_–and I was breathless. Suddenly, I noticed that I–we–had elevated considerably.

I was brusquely flipped back into a standing position, resulting in my lungs getting winded again. The ground seemed to be unstable beneath my feet; I kept on slipping around. Then, I noticed the water rushing to my side (Neeeear, faaar, wherever you are!...Don't mind me...).

There was a quick moment of anger, but it was highly outridden by the many moments of fear. Someone was behind me, their hands on my upper arms.

No, it's just Kenshin, don't forget. And more importantly, don't look down.

I looked down. It was a long fall to the water below...a long, long, _long_ fall... My eyes closed tight. It felt like someone was squeezing my lungs with their bare hands, and I started hyperventilating. There was a faint whispered command behind me and I tried to comply, stepping forward and keeping my balance as best I could. Well, it wasn't good enough and I slipped. I think I fell, I couldn't really remember. I think I passed out, but I wasn't sure.

All I was sure of was that I suddenly found myself on my knees, sitting before someone who was gripping my arms at the elbows, talking to me. My eyes fluttered open, instantly greeted by the sight of a moonlight illuminated Kenshin, asking me something.

"Are you okay? Shit, I'm sorry...Are you alright?"

"I...I think s-so..." I mumbled, fighting the urge to throw up. "Help me up..."

Kenshin looked doubtful. "Are you sure you can stand? You look really pale..."

How could he tell? It was dark. "Yeah..." I said, regardless of what my body said. He stood up and held out his hand to me. When I took it he pulled me up so fast I became dizzy and staggered, trying to stop the floor from spinning. Kenshin caught me before I fell, resulting in a make-shift embrace, but I was far too sick to even blush.

"Oi," Kenshin muttered from around my shoulder. He performed the same maneuver that he used to pick me up the first time and easily picked me up again. This time, my lungs stayed in their same condition, but my brain began pounding from all the spinning and flipping around. "I told you."

I wanted to say 'shut up' or something of the sort, but I was afraid that if I opened my mouth I would throw up. So I swallowed and tried to cope with my growing headache. Kenshin began walking forward. I closed my eyes and only opened them when I heard a voice other than his. 

"Kaoru! What happened!?" I think it was Misao. I forced my eyes open and looked towards her voice. She looked a lot taller than normal. Then, I realized she was perched on Aoshi's shoulders. How she got him to do that is beyond me.

Kenshin opened his mouth to talk and I clapped my hand over it. "Nothing happened, Misao. I'm alright. I just...got a little sleepy, that's it..."

It was stupid, but it was also the best I could come up with. I think Misao bought it, but it was obvious Aoshi didn't. I smiled meekly at them, and Misao shrugged. "Well, rooster-head is being stupid. He's looking for you... Or he was... I don't know what he's doing now. I left Sou-chan with him."

I felt Kenshin's arms tense slightly beneath me. So some things hadn't gotten straightened out yet.

"Well, you should go get Soujirou...I'm pretty sure Sano can find his own way 'home'," I said, removing my hand from Kenshin's face. "Besides, he deserves it..."

"Okay. Come on Aoshi; let's go get Sou-chan!"

"Ah."

I watched them leave. "I think I can stand now..." I said slowly. He looked conjectural, but he carefully put me down. My headache was still there, but I felt some control over my legs and I put them to use, walking at a leisurely slow pace. Kenshin followed me.

"So, where's your date?" he asked derogatorily. Here it comes. The question of the day...er, night... morning... Whatever!

Tired of lying, and just plain tired in general, I responded, "He got drunk and pissed me off. Are you happy?" He didn't say anything for a while, resulting with a confused silence. We entered the interior of the ship, small crowds of people still awake and walking about. I tried to sneak a look at the man following me, but I was forced to withdraw my gaze embarrassedly when our eyes met unexpectedly. 

"How was _your _date?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Kenshin shrugged. "It was okay... until I pissed her off and she hit me. My ideal night..."

He had a sardonic grin on his face.

"You're lying," I said blandly. He eyed me suspiciously.

"Yeah..." he said slowly. "But I don't think I'm alone (Gothika!! That movie was scary...sorry.)..."

I reflected over what he said as we walked downstairs. It took a while for it to connect– he was talking about me! I wasn't lying! I said I was tired of lying...Was he talking about now, or...?

"Actually," he began, causing me to snap out of my thoughts and look at him, "...My night sucked _until_ I pissed her off and she hit me."

"What, you like getting hit?" I asked, turning down the hallway to our room.

"No, but I like getting 'hit' on," he smiled. I rolled my eyes and pulled my key card from my dress, spotting his eyes widen as I did.

"What?" I said, shoving the card into the slot and pushing the handle down.

"You keep your key between your brea--"

"And where else am I supposed to put it?" I cut him off. "In my purse? I don't think so...It could get stolen."

"It could get stolen there, too," he remarked slyly. I snorted and walked into the room

I turned the lights on and looked around. Some people had fixed up our room, going so far as to even put a little improvised towel bunny on the bed. It was nifty and all, but I was tired, so I knocked the silly animal aside and unceremoniously fell onto my bed, not bothering to change.

I drifted off into a fitful sleep, not even trying to listen to Kenshin's idle chatter.

AN-So…it wasn't the best of chapters… *starts crying* Stop laughing at me!! *normal* Anyways, it would make the author very happy if you, you know, reviewed… Please!!? I ish begging you! *cries again* I'm gonna go do the reviewer responses now, *sniff*.

Audi Daudi- Ah, I warned ya! Sorry… I'll try to; as ya can see, there wasn't that much *cough*cough* in this one…heh.

Jade eyed neko- Thanks for reviewing! Ha, I think something's wrong with you, too if you're addicted to the crap I write…anyways, wOOt!

Tesuka-chan- Ah, somehow your review reminded me to put a disclaimery thingy for all those songs mentioned, ha. So, uh, unintentional thanks and intentional thanks from me! wOOt!

Mellyd- Whee! Thanks for reviewing again! I think you triply reviewer people are drugged, ah ha, but I don't mind the end result! Thanks a lot!

Arteme- wOOt! Thanks for reviewing a lot! Uh, I'm triyng to update faster…like I said, weekly…*cough*…anyways, thanks!

*Uhm, I need to review one of each of your stories, ah, I'll get to it, I promise! My bad, I was kinda rushing my chapters onto the internet last time…heh*

Ha ha. Thanks to all readers and reviewers. I really appreciate it… (but I'd appreciate it more if you reviewed, ha!) Anyways, uhm…wOOt!?


	5. Chapter 5

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1AN- Ta-da! I bet you thought I couldn't pull it off, eh? Well, I DID! Ha! In yo' face! Sunday/Saturday updating was my goal, and so far I've made it! So there. Anyways, enough about that. I hope you like this chapter, 'cause I don't really like it. It's more of a "here's to all those characters I forgotted. They don't say anything, but they're still there" kind of chapter. Anyways, on with the story. wOOt!

Disclaimer–I don't own a lot of things. RK (and all their characters), Blink 182 (and all their songs), All-American Rejects (and all their songs), Garth Brooks (ditto), and Carnival cruise ships are just some of them. Oh, yeah, and I don't own money, either, so illegally (seeing as I said they weren't mine already) suing me won't get you much of anything.

OOC! ...Yeah... Anyways...

I don't know how long it had been, but it felt like I had closed my eyes and opened them and it turned from night to day. In other words, I was as tired as I was before I went to sleep. It was dark... maybe it wasn't morning yet. A loud snore caused me to turn my head around to face Kenshin's bed.

He wasn't there...? His bed was perfectly made, just like it had looked the night before. Well, if that wasn't him, then who was snoring?

I sat up, confusion waking me up a little bit more. I looked around, finally stopping when my eyes fell upon an arm dangling loosely from behind the curtain on our window. I blinked, and then rubbed my eyes. Was that...Kenshin? I stumbled out of bed, untangling myself from the sheets and my own dress. As soon as I reached the window, I began tiptoeing cautiously towards it, my hand outstretching towards the window a little more with each step.

I slowly pulled it back halfway so the curtain wouldn't make so much noise. The sunlight hit me first, thoroughly blinding me for a moment...or two...or three... After about seventeen moments of blinking away light, I finally began detecting a silhouetted figure. Kenshin was curled up like a cat, sleeping contentedly in the small space provided by the window frame. His body was slowly rising and falling to an inaudible beat...well, unless you count the loud snoring.

Why was he sleeping there? First the floor, and now the window. I really think he had some sort of clinophobia (fear of going to bed) or something.

I pulled the curtains all the way back in one quick motion. The metal rings sliding across the supportive pole made a lot more noise than I thought it did. Kenshin reacted so fast it scared me–he jumped awake and smacked his head on the top of the frame, then lost his balance and fell out of the window, narrowly missing me and not missing the floor.

"Damn it..." he grumbled from the floor. "That's the last time I'm sleeping there."

"Why were you sleeping there in the first place?" I asked curiously, eyeing him. His eyes rolled to me.

"Good morning," he said, ignoring my question. He sat up and yawned widely. Suddenly a noise startled us. I looked to my luggage where the noise was coming from. Oh. Cell phone.

I went to go check it. I hoped it wasn't somebody stupid; I was on roaming charges and the normal phone in our room was nine bucks a minute (seriously! That's what they charge you!). When I pulled it out, I realized it wasn't ringing, but reminding me of something.

It said 'meeting' in little letters.

"Crap..." I muttered to myself. Kenshin heard me and he rolled over from his position on the floor and leaned over my shoulder to look.

"Meeting? Meeting who?" he asked, confused.

"Don't you remember?" I asked him irately. He didn't say anything, so I continued. "Tonight we're supposed to go and eat dinner with everyone."

"Everyone? Like who?"

"Like, our cast, maybe... Seeing if we made progress or whatever..." I ran an exasperated hand through my hair. If our director thought we were going to hate each other one day, avoid each other for the next two days, and then magically be all buddy-buddy with each other the following night, he was slower than I had thought.

"So?" Kenshin suddenly said. "Don't go. I'm not." He shrugged half-heartedly and climbed back into the window, looking at the water outside. I don't know why people keep saying the water looks pretty. I mean, I know I said it, once, but I don't keep staring at it like it's something new...which it isn't.

"Well, unlike you, I'm kind of trying to like and make this job work." I stood up, abandoning my phone, being that it was the one who had ruined my day before I even had a chance to ruin it myself.

Wait...that didn't come out right...

Before I could reverse the effect, Kenshin got up and stretched. I turned away and tried to focus on something else. Like tonight, for example. That had to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why did we have to go to dinner with the people we hated? It was confusing and stressing me out...yes, I am easily stressed out... Everyone liked somebody and detested somebody else. There was no way we would all end up liking each other.

*   *   *

After taking a shower and getting dressed, I met with Misao outside our door. I don't know why she was waiting there, but I didn't really mind, either. She had Soujirou in a tow, who looked like he was smiling miserably.

"Hey, Kaoru!" she smiled. "Want to go eat breakfast with us? Sou-chan won't eat anything and Aoshi went somewhere, so it's really boring."

"I'm sorry," Soujirou apologized. "I don't feel good..."

"It's okay. Where's Aoshi, though?" I asked, looking around as if expecting him to be there.

"I don't know. Something about meditation. Alone time, ya know? He hates crowds..." Misao replied with a shrug. Well, that was no surprise. Aoshi didn't seem the talkative type. The real surprise was that he had actually told something to Misao. Oh, well. I guess he really does like her.

Suddenly, the door next to ours opened. Sano quietly walked out and shut it, his hand over his mouth. He silently shut it and leaned against it, sliding down to a sitting position on the floor and swallowing repetitively. Misao walked over to him and poked him with the toe of her shoe experimentally.

After a moment, Sano let his hand drop away from his face and opened his eyes halfway. He stared at Misao for a minute, blinking in a painful way.

"Damn it, weasel, what are you doing here?" he asked her in an exasperated whisper. Misao blinked, then kicked him.

"I wasn't coming here to see you, that's for sure!" she shouted indignantly. Sano and Soujirou cringed at the volume of her voice. "Not like it's any of your business, anyway, but for your information I came here to see--"

"Shh! Be quiet!" Sano snapped fiercely, nursing his bruised shin. "If you didn't come here to see me, then go away!"

"Fine, I will!" Misao yelled, deliberately raising her voice. She stomped away and I followed her.

"Please try to calm down, Misao," Soujirou said, trying to help Misao do just that. She turned to him, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Sou-chan, I didn't mean to yell in front of you like that," she said. "Anyways, I'm starving. Let's go eat something!"

I followed them, Misao chatting animatedly to me and Soujirou, but it was a mostly a one-sided conversation. Soujirou was too hung over (for probably-not-the-last time, I don't believe in proper grammar!) to respond and I was just not responding.

This was due to the fact that I was contemplating on the night of misery ahead. There were many ways to avoid it, I reasoned with myself, counting on my fingers. One, feign sudden sickness and not go; Two, take a nap and don't wake up until tomorrow morning; Three, go and then go to the 'bathroom' and not return.

And then there was Four, simply not go at all without any reason but your own wishes, like Kenshin had suggested. Speaking of whom, where was that mop? He had disappeared during my shower, which was okay with me, but I couldn't help but wonder...

"Kaoru? Hello, Earth to Kaoru!" Misao was waving a hand in my face. I realized I had been sitting at the table doing nothing for who knows how long. I don't even remember walking into the place or sitting down at a table.

"What were you thinking of to put you in such a trance?" Misao asked.

"Oh, nothing," I replied quickly. Then again, I wonder if she's going... "Hey Misao..."

"Yes?"

"Are you going to that dinner thing tonight?"

Misao looked confused. "What dinner thing?" I sighed. Misao probably didn't know about it, meaning she probably won't go, and that will be three less people I can actually associate with.

"Never mind," I said, faking happiness...which was the opposite of what I felt. "So, what were you talking about...?"

*   *   *

The day was more boring then apprehensive for me. It was also very disturbing. I found enough time to ponder on things I really didn't want to ponder about...Like, tonight, for example. I also had much time to speculate about a certain someone, making me confused and upset. It had come to a point where I had began bashing my head against the ship's wall in a futile effort to cleanse my mind from some very, *ahem*, 'risqué' thoughts, earning me strange looks from passerby and a sharp reprimand from Misao, who thought something was really wrong with me.

I agreed with her; something had to be wrong with me for me to start falling for _him_. It just wasn't logical. He, in my opinion (or what was and definitely _should_ still be my opinion), was a womanizing, mop-headed, perverted idiot! But, when you get all the free time I had gotten, excuses kept popping up here and there, until there were so many it made a fool like him seem like a cute, innocent, and simply misunderstood boy. Awww.

Then I remembered he wasn't a little boy, and instead he was turned into an attractive, desirable, sexy...

After I had done it, I wished I hadn't. My headache, a result from the head-bashing on the wall, had increased tenfold when I had literally smacked myself silly, staggering from its surprising force.

There had been another squeak of dismay from Misao. Boy, did I get it from her! She was really worried after that, and kept an even closer eye, if possible, on me.

Well, if the meeting message from my phone hadn't ruined my day, this certainly did. I guess that phrase had come out right after all.

Any who, it was around 7:30, a half an hour before the whole dinner charade, when I began seriously thinking about not going. Kenshin wasn't much of a help either. He kept telling me to stop worrying so much. He also said if I went and somebody upset me not to worry about because he'd go shoot their head off for me later. Oh, yes, let me tell you how confident that made me.

Afterwards I bickered with him for about ten minutes on him having a gun in the first place, something I had put off for a while. Then, I got ready for what I was sure was going to be one horrible night, only second in its terribleness (ha) to last night.

Another surprise was that Misao had found out about the whole meeting deal through Aoshi, and now she was going, too. Soujirou was extremely hesitant to go, but then Misao scolded him for being anti-social and dragged him along. Aoshi truthfully told me that he didn't want to go either, but Misao insisted. _That_ was impressive. She really does have a lot more power than she thinks.

Actually, the only reason she went is to keep an eye on me. Though it was nice, I didn't want her to suffer for me. When I voiced these thoughts, she gave me a reprimand similar to what she had told Soujirou.

So, here I am, sitting here with Misao, Aoshi, Soujirou, and some other people I forgot about. The place was huge, beautiful, and elegant. Really elegant. Folded napkins, about fifty different utensils, cups, plates, and bowls at each of the settings, not to mention fifty settings at each of the huge tables. These cruise people really went all out, didn't they? 

Let's see...on my right was Soujirou, Misao, and Aoshi, in that order. On my left there was some woman with purple hair. Her enthusiasm in meeting everybody matched that of Misao's.

"Hey!" she suddenly said to me. "I don't remember seeing you. What's your name, honey?"

"Kaoru..." I said slowly. Slowly because I was trying to multitask and think of if I had seen her somewhere...

"Oh." And that was it for a minute. Then, "I'm Honjo Kamatari. Nice to meet you! Who are your friends?"

"Huh?" I think she was talking about Misao and Soujirou and Aoshi, but how'd she know they were friends with me? I shrugged it off and turned to Soujirou, who was smiling the same way he had been when we had went to the 'party' yesterday-forced. "This is Soujirou," I said to her, indicating this said person. He turned, saw her and waved shyly. "And that is Misao." I pointed to Misao. Misao noticed and suddenly leapt into overly-friendly mode.

"Hey! I think I remember you!" she said to Kamatari. "Your name is Kamatari, right?"

"Yeah!"

I don't think Misao and Kamatari would have any problems getting along with each other. I was curious to see who they _didn't_ get along with.

"This is Aoshi," Misao was saying. Kamatari wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and I think Aoshi twitched. Misao giggled.

"So, where's your 'partner'?" Kamatari asked me. I think I twitched.

"I don't have one," I snapped. I didn't mean to make it sound so mean. Kamatari didn't seem to notice–or, she did, and found it amusing.

"Don't lie to me, sugar, I already seen you with him." She held her hand horizontally above her head. "About so high, with weird yellow eyes, red hair, and cusses every two seconds?" Damn Kenshin and his conspicuousness (ness...? Word Perfect says it's a word...no pun intended, hah.).

I didn't want to agree, but much to my chagrin Misao did. "Yeah, that's him! Don't you think they make a cute couple?"

"We aren't a couple!"

"I know! They are just perfect for each other!" Kamatari chimed after my outburst. I sighed audibly and she looked at me with astonishment in her gaze. "You are so lucky. You and her."

"Me? Lucky? Hah! That's hilarious," I said dryly. Kamatari only shook her head.

"Seriously! If I had gotten such a hottie I would be in his lap by the second day." I blushed violently, not because of her forwardness (darn you, ness! You're confusing me!), but because she had given me images that didn't aid in my removal of previous visions. My hand itched to fly across my face again, but Misao would leap all over me if it did so I held back and tried to concentrate on something else. "But I have someone else on my mind already, so you don't have to worry, sweetie."

"Worry? I'd be glad," I said. My actual curiosity was on whom was she talking about. Then, her eyes suddenly hardened into a glare. Her gaze was off me a few inches, so I turned to see who it was to.

It was being directed at a woman in a revealing, off-the-shoulder dress. She also had purple hair-I think it was a trend...Anyways!-and green lipstick which I could recognize anywhere. Yumi, wasn't it?

There was a dangerous swing to her hips, bordering on disgustingly seductive and painfully dignified, something that reminded me of a bit of a certain someone which made my skin crawl. She sat down next to Kamatari and there was a growl from somewhere beside me.

Then, I remembered. Kamatari and Yumi didn't get along_-at all_. I really hoped one of these plates doubled as a shield, 'cause I sensed a strong possibility that there was going to be some food flying over here.

Other people started arriving. Oh, darn. More interacting. Social skills were something I didn't possess. Sure, I made friends, but I didn't like meeting too many people at once. And I always forgot people's names! So I had to say 'you!' or 'hey!' It was embarrassing! (Nobody here can say they've never forgotten some important person's name, can they?)

Table filled. Our (main) cast was big enough to fill up about three tables. That's a lot of people.

I was sitting with the aforementioned Kamatari, Misao, Aoshi, Soujirou, Yumi, a twitching guy that looked like he had antennas, a guy with long green hair, a little spiky haired boy, a soft-eyed brunette little girl, and a woman of matching appearance. I think I could rattle off a few of their names if I really tried, but I wasn't in the mood.

When the table had filled up completely, some waiters passed out fancy little rolls and cursive menus with script so small I felt a ridiculous urge to ask for a magnifying glass. I ordered something I couldn't really remember, but I know I couldn't pronounce it*, either, so, oh well.

*(It's all in French, isn't that stupid?)

I guess it was okay at first. There was a bit of re-introducing, talking, arguing on Yumi's and Kamatari's part, more talking, stupid, food, boring, I'm wasting my time, blah, and did I mention talking?

Well, it went smoothly until _that_ subject came up again. I was poking unconsciously at my plate, ignoring the comments floating around me and dwindling between reality and an apathetic stupor when I heard my name. I looked up in response, trying to focus. I wanted to go to sleep, so it was hard at first.

"Aren't you the girl that's with my 'baka deshi'?" Hiko, whose name I found out with Kamatari's help, asked me. It took me a while to comprehend. Baka deshi...stupid/idiot pupil... 'Are you with my stupid pupil?'...Hey!

"No," I answered, sounding a little more contrite than I wanted to. Why is it that everyone automatically assumes that we like each other just because we work together? Because we don't!

"Why are there so many god damned forks!?" the guy with antennas yelled, trying to pick a fork to eat his food with. The waiter for our table began explaining.

"That's the soup spoon, that's the salad fork..."

"Of course you are, girl! I saw you with him!" Hiko continued. Damn. I think our room was bugged. "So, where is he?"

"I don't know..." I muttered. What was I, his keeper? I don't think so...

"That's the butter knife, that's the steak knife..."

"Don't know? Che, I should smack him for making his woman go eat alone," he said, more to himself then to me, shaking his head. I bristled and bit back a retort. His woman?! I twitched on that one. And 'make me eat alone'? Kenshin couldn't make me do anything. Well, excluding that thing on the railing, but that wasn't...that was different...That just didn't count, okay?

"Oh, that man with the red hair?" the woman with brown hair asked. "He was so nice to me! You don't like him?"

I had the strangest desire to bash my head against the table.

"I think you two make a cute couple," she said pleasantly. I could barely feel my nails digging into my palms. What I mainly felt was the smallest trace of another outburst rising dangerously close to my surface.

"Cute? The real surprise is that someone actually fell for the dumbass," Hiko laughed. Fell for him?! I so did _not_!

So that's the way it went for a moment or two, before I finally put myself out of my misery and excused myself, ignoring their whispers.

"And that is the desert spoon, and that is the–uh, sir, that isn't the right way to hold that knife..."

"I hold it however I feel like holding it, damn it!"

*   *   *

I ended up eating somewhere else, because I really hadn't eaten what I had ordered. Besides, I never really could stomach fancy food like that. Or at least my wallet couldn't.

Afterwards I leaned out against the railing again. There was a lot of people out tonight, everyone was dancing and having a lovely time. Free food, free entertainment, free alcohol... Better to enjoy the free life while it lasted, 'cause the bill for all of it was going to come soon.

So that's how I found myself sitting there, feeling sick and flushed as I looked at the water. Yeah, I had had a few drinks, but it wasn't much. Let's see, there was that one...and then this one waitress asked me if I wanted more and I said 'yes'...and then there was... Oh, forget it. It was pretty stupid of me, but I didn't really care at the moment.

This whole 'couple' thing was a lot more stressful than I thought. Many would think I was overreacting, and maybe I was. But I wasn't planning on opening myself up to some stranger and become an easy target (Holly's looking dry, looking for an easy target... Ha, rock on, Blink 182!). I don't make the same mistake twice.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned my head to see who it was. Yellow eyes and red hair. All I needed to know. I slowly turned back around and looked at the darkening sky, watching the last traces of light slink back beneath the horizon. Kenshin leaned next to me, his hand sliding off my shoulder.

"Something wrong? I thought you were going to go--"

"I did," I said brusquely, leaving no room for comment on that. There was a moment of silence (excluding the pounding background music and chatter) on his part. "I met your 'teacher'. Real nice guy..." I rolled my eyes.

"Who?" Kenshin asked, baffled. I guess he suddenly remembered, 'cause then he said, "Oh, Shishou? Aw, fuck. Did he say something about me?"

"No," I said quickly. "It was...fun..."

"So why do you look so miserable? Something else wrong?"

"I..." I sighed, feeling light-headed. I re-gathered my wits and finished. "I'm just a little stressed out."

"Oh?" he said questioningly. He pushed off from the railing and I was certain that he had left, but before I knew it his hands were on my shoulders and he was giving me a massage. It felt good, but my slowed senses instantly leaped at me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I didn't move or tense, but my voice was sharp when I asked. 

He didn't stop, but slowed for a minute, then continued in a normal pace. I could practically hear him smiling (Can you hear me smiling as I sing this song...All-American Rejects, hello! Duh!). "I don't know. People usually like massages when they're stressed. Don't you? If you want me to stop, just say it."

Something inside of me said I was making a mistake. Florescent, neon signs and alarms lit up and went off in my head saying I was letting someone get too close to me. But it felt so good! I was able to ignore my conscience easily until I felt his index finger rub the side of my neck.

I jerked away on impulse, gasping. His hands leapt off of me and when I turned around I saw the surprise and fear in his eyes (And I saw the surprise, and the fear in his eyes!, when I took his glass of champagne!...Never mind...).

"Did I hurt you?" he asked quickly. I shook my head, trying to breathe.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I just...I just..." I rubbed the side of my neck nervously, almost as if checking for injury. "...I don't like people touching me there..." (I know that sounds wrong, but...get your heads outta the gutter, people!!)

"Shit, my bad. I didn't know...I won't do that again, I promise..." Here he actually hid his hands behind his back.

"It's okay," I said breathlessly. My eyes caught Misao running up to me.

"Kaoru! What did you leave me for? And-Are you alright?" Her chastising turned to concern. She put a hand on my forehead. I calmly removed it.

"I'm fine..."

"But you're so pale! And you've been acting weird all day!" Uh oh. Kenshin cocked an eyebrow.

"Acting weird?" He echoed. His face was more curious than worried. I swallowed unconsciously.

"Yes!" Misao said tugging at my hand as if to try and pull me away. "She's been beating herself up all day!"

"Really?" Questioning.

I felt like I was in the principals' office with my parents, while the principal explained how I had blown up the science lab. Oh, yes, quiet they were in there, but when we got it home, it would be hell...

Huh? No, I am _not_ recalling from personal experience! Really!

"Here, Kaoru, maybe you should go lay down..." Misao pulled at my hand again and I hesitated. Kenshin broke our hands apart and took mine.

"I'll make sure she does," he said reassuringly to her. She looked doubtful, but finally relented and, after several threats to me and Kenshin if I got 'worse', left. I silently begged her to come back.

Kenshin watched her leave, and then turned to me. I smiled stupidly.

"What was she talking about?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing me with his yellow gaze.

I couldn't very well go right out and say "I started fantasizing about you and tried to beat the visions out of my system physically when it got out of hand..." so I didn't. Instead I quickly said, "I don't know."

I added the word, "Honestly!" when his eyes narrowed further in skepticism.

He let go of my hand, reluctant. I backed away with a fake smile, then turned and attempted to escape. His hand grasped my shoulder and I barely managed not to flinch from the contact.

"Yes?" I asked in a deflated tone. There it was. That 'audible' smirk again.

"Where are you going?" he asked casually. To be honest, I was going to the room. I was tired and I felt my small consumption of alcohol gnawing at my energy. It depended on what I drank, but usually I was a tired drunkie, not a crazy fool (yes, this is possible; it's how I react to drinking, so...so there!).

But, I felt a little suffocated by his question for some reason, and I responded haughtily, "Wherever I want to."

Wrong answer. Before I could blink, Kenshin had upended me again. There was a big difference from last time, though. For starters, we had an audience. A much larger audience than last time.

And, secondly, I felt fine and able to revolt. Which I did. I kicked and screamed as if there was something very unjust about it...which there was! Hah. Some 'cute couple' we made, didn't we? Kenshin literally carrying me bitching and kicking all the way down three flights of stairs to our room.

 By then I had yelled my voice hoarse and shut up after a while, and my legs had gotten tired long before that. I think I actually fell asleep for two minutes in his arms--hey, it wasn't my fault he was a slow walker and had arms like cushions!–because the next thing I knew I was in my bed, blinking torpidly at the man hovering over me.

"Why'd you do that?" is what I meant to ask, but it came out in an inarticulate mumble. I tried to say something again, but I couldn't get it out and, frankly, I was too tired to care.

I fell asleep almost instantly.

I had a weird, scary dream that night...

AN-I never was good at cliffhangers, especially since there isn't that much of a big plot in this story. Leave me alone! I'm trying to keep each chapter about 9-10 pages long (excluding the endnotes, depending on the font). Anyways, that's it...Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing...I'm sorry if I left you out when I tried to review all of your stories, tell me and I'll get to it, I promise.

Which leads us to that one policy...read the front page of FF.net and you'll know what I mean...I just started responding to people, too! UnwOOtiful, man! Anyways, if you really want me to tell you how much I appreciate it your review or you have other questions, drop your email in your review or make sure it's on your profile and tell me to email you back or something. I promise I will! Thanks a bunch! I'm working on a loophole, here, so be patient...bwahahaha! Anyways, thanks again, and please review...it means so much to me, and it couldn't hurt, could it?


	6. Chapter 6

AN-(This ff.net editor thing...is AWESOME!!) Uh...This chapter was...hard...to write? Right. That. Maybe it's because it got a little bit serious-er and I'm not good at "moving" people. I can't even promise the next chapter will be better off! (cries) Maybe the one after that, but...No promises! Anyways, yes, this chapter is lacking the basic funny that I had originally planned for it, but, ah, the plot line was going nowhere, somebody asked a question, and...yeah...and I have been a little depressed lately. sigh Sorry. I tried to stick some fun-ness in there...try and pretend to laugh...It's also really long...well, by my standards. An extra page. Oh, well.

Warnings! OOC, bits of cussing, bad, low self-esteem, I'm a sucky writer who isn't lying, are you still reading this, go away, and that's it! I think...

Disclaimer. There. I said it. Now go read it in another chapter. scowls

What are you doing? ...Stop it...Don't touch me...

Please...stop...you aren't yourself...

I feel something hot fall down my face, leaving a trail. My voice is cut short as something closes around my neck. There isn't much I can do now, but wait for it all to end.

Water is running, and my thoughts become sluggish as my throat is closed completely, my previous gasping becoming a useless gesture. He wouldn't.

Already obscured vision becomes even worse as my head is immersed in water. Everything's distorted and my black hair swirls in my eyes, spinning slowly in the liquid, like everything else.

I think I screamed...with what was left of my voice and breath. It's muted, though.

I can't breathe.

(x.x) (they don't let you use stars anymore..sniff) 

That's when the black screen was occupied by a different room. My sweaty body instantly flipped into a sitting position, tossing off blankets in the process. Realization hit me and I tried to stop shuddering. But, after that horrible vision, it's really hard.

...Too hard. I drew my knees up and backed against the wall, hugging myself. Calm down, calm down, just a dream... I was like a broken record. I felt sick. Literally.

Before I knew it I was already in the bathroom. After I got sick, I flushed the toilet and washed my mouth out. Yuck. I hated throwing up. It was nasty.

Hangover? My head pounded its agreement. But, even after I had emptied my body, I still felt just as horrible as before. I staggered back to bed. That's funny. I hadn't had that dream in over two years.

I was glad I hadn't, because it hurt. A lot. My throat hurt, my chest hurt, my head hurt, everything hurt. I bit my lip and tried to deal with it, but it was a futile endeavor. That was mostly because I kept reliving every single detail of the dream, from the door slamming to someone pulling me from the watery grave and telling me it would be okay.

I swallowed and blinked back tears that threatened to fall. No, I wasn't going to cry, that's for sure. The whole happening was, what, three years ago? Get over it, already.

I ended up hugging myself again and sobbing quietly to myself. That...That didn't count as crying...did it?

My cryi–I mean!-my _sobbing_ instantly stilled when I heard the door 'click' and an irrational impulse of mine caused me to throw myself back under the covers, bury my face in the pillow and shut up as somebody toppled in.

There was the slamming of a door, a few steps, and then a pause. Then, I remembered. Dammit, I left the bathroom light on! I mentally cursed myself into a momentary oblivion.

I guess he thought nothing of it and continued further into room after turning it off with another 'click'. He took a long time to make it all the way to his bed and to get settled down.

Which sucked, because I was trying really hard to stop (fine, have it your way!) crying and be silent, but he was taking too damn long. I shut my eyes even tighter, but that only made the visions and memories clearer and more painful. Just had to wait until he started snoring...then I could cry...or at least leave.

After what seemed to be hours I finally broke. My breathing had long since become ragged, and I suddenly couldn't hold it anymore. Just one. Just one quiet little cough and I was sure I could survive. Well, that 'cough' turned out to be the supporting beam to the house. My shoulders started heaving with my silent sobs, ones that would surely get louder. I was a big crybaby.

There was a sudden movement beside me and I knew what it was. No, I couldn't let Kenshin see me like this! It made me feel...ashamed? Vulnerable? Embarrassed?

How about: (D) All of the Above.

I tossed myself out of my bed and managed to get out of the room before he knew what was happening. I had a funny feeling he would follow me, so I ran as fast as I could to somewhere. Anywhere but in there. I earned myself even more strange looks as I flew through the ship and up the stairs in last nights' clothes, my hair flying radically everywhere. I must've looked crazy.

I had to find a place completely shut off from the world. Impossible, I know, but I think I found something close to it.

I ran through the second largest dining place, the more casual one (I forget its name, I think it was called "The Wheelbarrow" or something, but that sounds dumb...sorry, heh) and found a small door at the side. I went through it and almost fell over the railing. It was a narrow metal walkway with railing. I didn't care–I ran after recovering from the shock of almost falling into that big blue colossus (yay for personification!) until I arrived at some stairs and a door.

The already strong wind increased marginally as I closed the door behind me. The place was deserted. It was a tiny balcony-like deck, narrow and shaped like the top half of an arrow. The view from it overlooked the front half of the deck; a part of the ship cut off from the public, because that's where maintenance and things were...whatever. The railing wasn't just bars; it was a short wall. I sat down and put my back to it, hugging my knees. And cried.

One thing was for sure. I don't think I would be falling for anyone anytime soon. And it would be ages before I ever let someone touch me...even shake hands with somebody. It just hurt too much. But it had been three years ago! Was I so weak as to be affected by something a long time ago? And in a dream?!

Yes...yes, I was...

Besides, even after it, I had dreamed of it every night for a year straight. Then, I got counseling and medicine for it...

Shit, I forgot to take my medication yesterday. No wonder. But...did it have to be _that_ dream?

It was a long while before my sobs became less violent and less in number. Every time I remembered a particularly painful portion of the memory, though, I would choke and cry a bit again.

After a while I became aware of the cold, and I bit my lip to stifle my chattering teeth. Maybe running away was a bad idea. Now I felt empty and...alone... I wanted someone to find me, but I didn't. It was hard to explain.

I think somebody was coming. No, not yet! I guess I didn't really want to be found. But, I was too weak to run, so I didn't. I just hugged myself tighter and wished to disappear...which I didn't.

Somebody walked in and shut the door behind them. "Kaoru?"

I exhaled shakily and tried to hold what little ground I had beneath my feet, not even bothering to look up to see who it was. How did he find me?

He didn't say anything. He merely sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

What?! Don't let him, he'll hurt you, he'll kill you, he'll...he'll...! Once again I ignored my conscience. I wasn't scared of him. It felt good to be hugged. So much for not letting anyone touch me.

Slowly, I loosened up. I eventually found myself hugging him back, leaning into the embrace. And suddenly it didn't seem so cold anymore.

"Everything okay, now?" he whispered softly, still rocking back and forth in a soothing manner. He loosened his arms and I tried to hold him closer. I didn't want him to leave. Not just yet. I didn't care if he would never let me live this down. All I needed right then was comfort and he was doing a good job of providing it. I think he got the message and kept rocking me back and forth. It reminded me of when I was five years old and I had lost my kitty and my mom held me and rocked me in her arms, saying things like, 'it'll be okay, it'll be okay...'

Poor Kitty-chan. I had forgotten all about it until now. Tonight was just full of memories, wasn't it?

Though it killed me to know the question was bound to come up sooner or later, I was glad Kenshin hadn't immediately asked it...'What happened? What's wrong?' Because I was sure I wouldn't be able to take explaining it again.

I sniffed one last time into his shoulder and his arms tensed around me. Then, I managed to look up at his face.

My thank you got caught in my throat for a minute. I don't know why. His eyes just...did this thing...I don't know... I tried again and hiccupped. I flushed and he laughed a bit.

I hadn't recovered to a point of witty retorting and laughing, though, so I merely choked out a shaky "Thanks" and unwillingly pulled away. His hands held my upper arms, though, refusing to let go.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked sternly. 

To be honest, I knew I wouldn't be okay. So I said, "I'll be fine. Really. I..." I bit my lip again. That wasn't what I meant to say. "I had a bad dream." It wasn't _really_ a lie...It was more of an exaggerated truth...Okay, it was mostly a lie, so sue me...It was easier to lie when looking at him through my curtain of tangled hair.

He must've known that, too, and he reached out and pushed my hair behind my ears. I felt more nervous than romanced... I mean, you see those movies where he slowly looks into the girl's eyes, brushes her (combed) hair behind her ears, says something sappy, and then kisses her... Anyways! That's irrelevant. His eyes narrowed as he stared at my puffy eyes and he turned me around by the shoulders.

"If you pass out, it's all your fault," he muttered with finality. He drove me forward downstairs, back into the ship's interior, back to the 7th floor, and back to our room. I thought he would stop after that, but then he hassled me until I got into bed, no matter what I said. Then he sat and watched me with his recalcitrant golden gaze, his face screwed up into what appeared to be a determined scowl. I think...I think he was trying to intimidate me.

I stared back, my arms crossed over my chest, not closing my eyes, not turning away, not doing anything. It the redhead a full five minutes to realize I wasn't closing my eyes.

"Go to sleep, Kaoru," he ordered abruptly. No.

"No," I said, for lack of a better thing to say. I felt like a three-year old. Picking a fight just for the fun of it. But I wasn't doing it_ just _for the fight. I was scared to go to sleep and end up having another outrageous nightmare like that one again. I didn't feel safe, even in my own (temporary) bed.

"Yes." His eyes had suddenly narrowed at me in surprise. He obviously hadn't expected me to object. Well, I did! So there.

"Why should I?" No, I don't think I was this annoying as a kid.

"'Cause I said so..." Kenshin obviously wasn't a morning person (...er, night person...whatever!). I could see the dark rings under his eyes, hinted by the strip of moonlight shining through the curtains. And I could also hear the growing "you're becoming a pain in my ass" tone in his voice. Whatever pity he had previously felt for me was quickly vanishing. For some twisted reason, I felt happy for this. I don't need anyone's sympathy.

"I don't want to." I also felt a playful delectation growing inside of me because of the current situation. I don't know why...It was funny.

"You better, because I can't until you do."

That one caught me unawares. "Why?"

"Kaoru! Go to sleep!"

"Kenshin! No!" Then, I knew why it was funny. Because I was ticking off the unflappable, un-tick-off-able Kenshin. And I think I found it a tad bit hilarious. Especially because it was all over a little sleep. I bit my lower lip for what had to be the millionth time that night, this time trying to suppress laughter.

"Damn it, Kaoru, go the fuck to sleep."

"No fucking way, Kenshin, I'm wide awake."

"If you don't go to sleep right now, I'm gonna--"

"It's too light in here." I was just really testing his nerve. He actually went up to the curtain and closed it, cussing with every step. He came back and sat back down on his bed.

"There. Now..."

"Now it's too dark!" I whined piteously. "I'm scared!"

"Well, what the fuck do you want me to do about it!?" His face was in his hands. "Now, stop bitching and go to sleep!"

"...Tell me a story," I asked after a pause of thinking. "I'll go to sleep if you tell me a good one."

"Okay," Kenshin said. That was it? He walked over to my bed, pulled a chair up from the corner from the room and sat backwards on it (you know, when people turn the chair so the back of it faces you and they lean on the back? Just...oh, well...).

"Once upon a time," he started, "there was a beautiful princess..."

I tried to look cute.

"–but who gives a fuck about that bitch? Our story is about somebody else..."

My expression turned misanthropical (means skeptical...awesome word, that one is).

"In fact, our story is about another bitch that won't go to sleep. In fact, since she wouldn't go to sleep, she died. And the land rejoiced. The End."

"Is there supposed to be a moral?" I asked, trying not to sound hurt. He called me a bitch. That wasn't a nice story.

"Yes. Go to sleep." He sounded tired, his exhaustion burning up his frustration.

"Fine..." I finally said. I guess I had gotten pretty annoying, hadn't I? At least I had stopped thinking about my previous dream. I wasn't really tired at all. I hoped whatever possessed me to do what I did then knew what it was doing, 'cause I sure as hell didn't. "Kenshin?"

His half-opened eyes rolled slowly towards me, obviously irked. "What is it?"

"Will you lay with me?"

A stunned silence followed. I didn't mean to say that, but it was a little late for regret, wasn't it? Both of us widened our eyes and stared at each other, as if someone else of importance had commanded we do what I had asked.

"This isn't a trick, is it?" he asked. I scooted over when he got up.

"No...You don't have to, but..." I fidgeted a bit. "...I'm scared..." I put on the cutest face I could.

He was reluctant at first, but after a minute I think he got comfortable. In fact, he put his arm around me on impulse and I didn't object. His hand moved a little and I opened one of my closed eyes to look at it.

"If you even think about touching me, I'll kick your ass to Cozumel [1]," I said with a twitch of irritation. He laughed.

"You know I wouldn't do that to you..." he mumbled almost incoherently, obviously drifting off. I would've rolled my eyes if they were open.

I fell asleep really fast. I guess I felt a little safer...

Lie...I felt really safe.

...So much for not falling for anyone.

(x.x) 

[1]Tiny country in Mexico; where the cruise goes to.

(x.x) 

I woke up the next morning feeling generally languid. I started playing with the ends of my red hair, thinking on what I was going to do today. Nothing sounded great.

Wait...Red hair? I don't have red hair.

I think that was the moment I noticed that somebody else was behind me, an arm wrapped possessively around me like I was a big teddy bear. I evaluated the situation for a second, the hair falling from my hands, and took a deep breath, ready to scream bloody murder. I suddenly remembered last night.

I guess it was a good thing I remembered, 'cause it would have been pretty stupid to scream at someone for finding them next to you in bed when it was you who asked them to sleep with you. 

...That_ definitely _did not sound right.

I had just relived the exact memory of why I couldn't be doing this. This was...well... My eyes fell on the arm around my waist...this. I think my body was trying to warn me. And if I kept ignoring it, history might repeat itself, and that scared me more than anything.

I think if I laid there any longer I would refuse to get up, no matter what my conscience said. So I tried to get up.

Unfortunately, getting up proved to be difficult when someone had a cast-iron grip on you. I turned around in his hold, fully intending to smack him awake. But when I saw him lying there peacefully, I stopped.

Strange...

"Kenshin, wake up, you idiot," I muttered, disgruntled at this development.

"Fi...Five more minutes..." he grumbled back. Five more minutes and I would be asleep, too. That was probably his plan.

Something stopped me from persisting; something similar to what had held me back from hitting him. I felt defeated in some sense, so I pouted.

My pout became curious as I eyed his messed up hair.

_I wanted to comb it. I wanted to braid it. I wanted to touch it._

I blinked. Once. Twice. And three times, just for good measure. My hand slowly reached out to him. He was sleeping...he wouldn't notice if I just...just one little...

There was a quick knock on our door. I blinked (again) and looked over Kenshin's shoulder towards the door, as if just noticing it was there. Damn it.

I mean! I mean, thank you, whoever you are! I pulled away from him again. Kenshin opened one amber eye and looked at me for a minute, mumbling something. His expression then turned surprised and his arm uncoiled from me. The knock came again, this time more frantic. I stumbled from the bed in an almost grudging manner, ignoring the questions he began asking.

"Hey, Misao..." I greeted after opening the door. She looked at me, horrified.

"Kaoru! What are you doing out of bed? You look terrible! Get back in there!" She began shooing me back into the room. I let her, puzzled. 

"...you should be in bed..." Misao continued. Soujirou was strangely missing. But I noticed Aoshi was walking behind her.

"Good morning," he said tonelessly when he caught me staring. I smiled a worried smile in return, trying to relay a question-what the heck was Misao was doing, to be exact-through my eyes. He shrugged, catching the expression.

"Kaoru!"

Oh, no.

Kenshin had started shaking the sheets off of him and was walking up to me. "How come I woke up in your be--"

There was a loud clapping sound as I whirled around and slapped my hand over his mouth. Misao stopped shushing and looked at us funny. I had another stupid grin on my face, Kenshin's already wide eyes got even wider, and Aoshi's eyebrow quirked with interest.

Everyone waited for me to make the next move, so I had no choice but to remove my hand from Kenshin's mouth. I hoped he wouldn't say anything else.

He just looked at me, then looked to Misao and Aoshi, then back to me. "Don't tell me we did _that_ already," he said incredulously. I had a vague idea of what he was referring to and I frowned.

"No, we didn't," I snapped, momentarily forgetting about the other two in the room for a minute. "I had a nightmare."

"Oh, yeah..." Kenshin said, last night finally dawning on him.

"A nightmare?" Misao echoed. "Was it bad?"

Kenshin and I looked at each other. Well, actually, Kenshin looked at me, and I gave him the sharpest glare I could, trying to tell him to shut up. 'If you tell Misao we ended up sleeping together (there was no other way to say it) I swear I'll kick your ass...' His slowly opening mouth shut with a snap.

"No, it wasn't bad," I said to her, trying to be reassuring. Misao looked skeptical and, much to my dismay, so did Aoshi. It shouldn't have surprised me; you can't get one thing past that guy.

I grinned dumbly at them. I never could lie without smiling stupidly, hence why I suck at lying. The looks on their faces clearly said "Something isn't right here and I plan to find out what it is". Scrambling for an excuse to get out of the suspicious silence, I cleared my throat loudly.

"Well, er..." I stammered. "Who wants breakfast?"

(x.x) 

The day wasn't too bad. Let's see...I guess I could safely say I accomplished nothing. I found myself really tired really often. It worried Misao to no end; she said I should be back in bed, but I refused to go. I really should have thanked her for her concern, but all the overprotectiveness was suffocating me. Aoshi kept me under his blue gaze as well, not only because Misao was doing the same, but because he knew I was hiding something. And Kenshin...I don't even want to talk about him.

He kept watching me warily, indirectly asking me if something was wrong every damn second, trying to sneak moments alone to ask what my dream had been about, refusing to let it go at "I don't want to talk about it", which is what I said, and acting overprotective, like everyone else.

Feeling crowded, I made to get away and get a little time alone, but he wouldn't let me do that either! I wanted to scream at him, but then again, I didn't want to yell at him; he had put up with me, held me when I was scared, and done absolutely nothing wrong. But his concern was stressing me out, and with all the added pressure from Misao, Aoshi, and Kamatari, who we had seen during breakfast and who instantly said I "looked like shit, but not in a bad way" (thereby increasing Misao's worry), I was ready to lash out at the next person who even talked to me if I didn't get a chance to cool off.

Luckily, opportunity reared its beautiful head my way and the instant it came, I grabbed it and took to my heels with it. Literally. I watched for a lapse in Kenshin relentless protective behavior, and when it came in the form of him turning away to respond to the suddenly appearing Sanosuke, I picked up my feet and ran off. I'd have to remember to thank Sano later.

I knew he would somehow find me like he had done last time, so I decided to raise the level and hide a bit better. That prayer was answered by another runaway–Soujirou. When I checked over my shoulder to see if Kenshin had seen me, I accidentally ran into him. He let me hide in his room for a few hours, being that he had no 'partner'.

Like I said, the day wasn't too bad.

(x.x) 

I hadn't been on a slide in years. So, you can imagine my surprise when Misao found a really big plastic one in her contact case. She asked if I wanted to go on it. 

I asked her where Aoshi and Kenshin were and she said they went sky-diving in the Gulf of Mexico.

Okay. Sounds good to me.

I was about half way down the huge slide to nowhere when I realized something wasn't right...my shoes were missing! Damn, I said, snapping my fingers. I could just ask Misao to get them...

Then I realized that this made no sense at all. How could Kenshin and Aoshi be sky-diving in the middle of the...

The slide disappeared, and I began falling into nothingness. I had forgotten my parachute! I snapped my fingers again.

(x.x) 

I woke up on the carpeted floor. I pushed myself off of it with a groan, rising to my knees. That took the cake for the dumbest dream I've ever had.

I looked around. For a moment I expected to see Kenshin in the room, leaning on the wall or hanging off the ceiling like an idiot, but then I remembered this was Soujirou's room.

Did I fall asleep? I guess there had been nothing else to do.

I staggered to my feet, stretching my sore muscles. I could go for a walk...

My eyes went to the watch on my wrist. 2:47...am?! Dang, had I slept for that long? I looked to Soujirou, who was sleeping peacefully on the opposite bed. He was so nice! But I was sure if Kenshin knew I was here, he'd get jealous, judging on his behavior with Megumi.

I straightened out my clothes as best I could (yes, I did take a shower this morning if you were wondering), heading for the door. My eyes fell on the twin key cards sitting on the desk and I stopped. It would be pretty stupid to get locked out, wouldn't it?

After checking if the coast was clear outside Soujirou's room, I snuck out, one of his keys in my back pocket. I quietly promised to return it as I began walking down the hall. 

The ship seemed abandoned again. The 9th floor was the only 'occupied' one, being it had the casino.

A passerby with unnaturally red hair reminded me of Kenshin. My thoughts drifted back to him as I continued walking up the stairs.

One thing that had bothered me the whole day and been continuously pushed to the back of my mind was the fact that I had let him sleep with me. Just the thought of it made me freeze for a minute. Sleep. With. Me. I was naturally a shy, cautious person. The mere thought that I had allowed someone like him lay in the same bed with me was crazy and out of proportion.

A lot of things were out of proportion when it came to Kenshin. He was a puzzle, a very contradictory one, at that. His first impression had definitely screamed shallow, but you couldn't even attempt to put a finger on his real personality once you got to know him. The minute I met him I knew it would never work, but now my mind was telling me different. The thought made me feel stereotypic, like I had jumped to conclusions a bit too early.

I could easily say I didn't trust him as far as I could throw him. But...I had just as easily let him lay next to me in a bed with no one around if he tried to take advantage of me. Hell, I was the one who asked him to! I guess I was the real walking contradiction.

I then realized my new surroundings. Outside, this time on the 11th floor. It was the 'official' sun-tanning area; plastic chairs and settees everywhere. I think my feet have a mind of their own.

The cold wind told me to turn back around, so, after a quick look at the water, I did, yawning.

Unfortunately, yawning means closing my eyes. That means lacking forward sight. And that meant running into somebody.

I nearly fell, but someone caught me before I did.

"Are you o... Where the fuck have you been?"

I opened my eyes and realized I had bumped into and been saved from falling by Kenshin. Just my luck. I quickly released myself from his grasp. His eyes followed me as I backed up a little.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Looking for you," he said, his voice cynical. "You didn't answer my question."

"That...is a secret..." I whispered mystically. He frowned.

"Shit, you could have left a note." He ran a hand through his hair. "Misao had me hauling ass to find you...She said it was all my fault you got 'lost'."

"Well, I needed some time alone." I turned away, my arms crossed over my chest. I don't know what I was expecting, but I felt as if something was unfinished and I racked my brain to try and think of it. "What are you doing out so late?"

"I came out to smoke a cigarette." 

My eyes narrowed. "You aren't supposed to smoke..."

He grinned, walking past me to the railing. "That's why I do it at 3 o' clock in the morning."

I followed him. Yeah, you weren't supposed to smoke onboard. They said it was "dangerous". After all, you could "throw it off and have it blow back onto the ship and blow us all to smithereens", to quote the captain. I didn't see the real danger in it, but all I knew was that you weren't allowed to.

"Want one?" he asked. I declined with a shake of my head. He shrugged and put his lighter away, after, of course, he lit the cigarette hanging from his mouth. I watched it, the ashes automatically flying off the tip of it due to the strong wind.

We sat in silence for a long time. It wasn't an awkward silence, nor was it a companionable silence. The silence was that of which two strangers would share. Like they wouldn't mind you being that close, but they had their own lives and whatever you said to them would be forgotten in a matter of minutes once you parted with each other.

"I tried to quit, once," Kenshin suddenly said, breaking the silence. He pulled the last remnants of his cigarette and ground it into the railing, leaving a rather conspicuous black burn mark, then released it. It flew off to who knows where.

"Smoking?" I asked dully. I knew it was a dumb question, but I thought my initial response of "oh" would have been even dumber. He nodded.

"Lasted about two weeks," he said sardonically. "I blame my friends, though. They were always being dicks and offering me cigarettes."

"I've never smoked a day in my life," I said. "But my..." 

I stopped. I was about to say my dad used to smoke, but he didn't. My mom's husband did, but not my dad. He wasn't my dad.

"Your what?" Kenshin asked. I sucked my teeth, suddenly mad.

"My mom's husband used to smoke," I said, trying to keep my voice level. He raised an eyebrow.

"You mean your dad?"

"No! I mean, no, my mom's husband."

"But isn't that..." Kenshin looked confused, for once. He looked at my face, and I must've looked mad or something, because he halted (yes, that is a word!) for a minute. "...So, your step-dad?"

How many times did I have to tell him? "No, my mom's husband...Are you listening?" I snapped frustratingly. I didn't mean to sound so mean, but it just came out on its own accord.

"Wait, wait..." Kenshin turned to face me. "When two people marry," he began slowly, more to himself than to me, "they fuck each other and have a kid," here he began making hand motions, "...and if they are both straight, then the man is the dad and the chick is the mom...they are husband and wife, right? The man is the husband, and the girl is the wife...So her husband is the man, in other words, the dad... The mom's husband is the dad...Aw, fuck it." He was lost. "Is this one of those trick questions?"

Idiot. "No...Just forget I said anything," I said, annoyed. I turned away, biting back the curses I wanted to throw at him. I knew it wasn't his fault, but this cruise was tearing apart something that had taken over two years to reconstruct...my sanity. And it was pissing me off. It wasn't his fault...it was mine.

"Shit, what'd I say this time?" he muttered to himself. I didn't know if he was mocking me or if he was literally asking himself that, so I didn't say anything for a while. After that while, Kenshin walked up behind me and asked, "Did I piss you off?"

I cast my eyes downwards, towards my feet. "No..." I said after a (another) while. "I'm sorry. I had issues with my...mom's husband." That man wasn't related to me. Why should I make it sound like he was?

"Oh," he said at a loss for words.

"Yeah," I said, smiling morosely (Scars, they cut into you! Blisters, rose-colored hue! Mayday, we're...uhm...we're...never mind. Just give credit to Vendetta Red and their songs for that word...).

"What happened?"

I turned around slowly. "What?" I asked, the rheumatic tone in my voice conspicuous despite the calm that I tried to cover it with.

"What happened?" he repeated.

I couldn't believe he was asking me that. Did he have no respect?

The question reminded me of what my psychiatrist used to always say. He used to ask for every little detail and it hurt me to tell him, but that's what I did. I guess it helped me a little... I guess it would help to tell somebody...

I rubbed my arm, nervous. I didn't want to cry in front of Kenshin again, even though I had already done it once. What could I say, it was embarrassing!

I sat down in the nearest chair, sighing. "Well..." I started. "It's a really long story..."

AN- Don't even say it. I warned you, I warned you, but would you listen!? NO! No one ever listens to Tamyra!

...Shit. Did I just say my name?

Oh, well. I'll leave it there. Anyways, please review. Seriously. I need someone to tell me "You're going in the right direction!" or "You're miserably lost! Get a map!" I can't respond to you, unless you give me your email and tell me to do so. So yeah, that's the dilly yo... Uhm, thanks for reading...and reviewing...if you did? Yeah. That!

(factual stuff about the story...wOOt!) The cruise actually lasts for a maximum for 7 days. Mine was five days (cheap...). Let's see, 1 ½ days to get there, 1 ½ days in Cozumel, and 1 ½ days back. Somehow that tallies out to 5. Anyways, I decided to make it 3 ½ days there and back, instead. You know, I needed a little more time to map it out. So yeah, it's not perfectly correct, but...who's gonna know!? Oh, and that "my mom's husband" instead of my dad is actually a saying from this girl at my bus stop. She hates her step-mom, so instead she says "my daddy's wife". It's hilarious. So credits to her, too!


	7. Chapter 7? I lost count

A.N. - Freakin' shit piss ARGGH! I missed last week! This short, short, (need I continue?) short chapter shouldn't make up for it, either, so don't get your hopes up. Just...read it and get it over with!

Warnings-A horrible stab at angst, the most hated genre known to this author ::sighs:: OOC, AU, whatever...

Disclaimer-Don't own RK, there, I said it. Oh, and I don't own New Found Glory (and their awesome new song!), or Yahoo® and all their awesomeness…

I was more of a 'daddy's girl', always siding with my dad on everything, doing things for and with him. So, yeah, I guess you can just imagine how I felt when my dad died in a car crash.

Blinded by naivety, I thought that I was the only one who was thrown into a miserable state of depression–well, as depressed as an 8-year-old could be. Ha, wrong. My mom wasn't one of those jacked-up, gold-diggers you hear about. She cared for my dad more than anything, with the small exception of me.

So, we both fell into a sort of "coma." My mom struggled to support me on her own for about three years and some months. I don't know exactly when, but she had already begun excepting the fact that her late husband would not come back, and when she actually started smiling genuinely, I think that's when _it_ happened.

'_It_' was the meeting of my next "dad." I didn't know what to think. For the first few weeks, when my mom would bring him over, I would hole myself in my room, not wanting to talk to either of them. I thought my mom was a traitor to my real dad, and that _he_ was going to leave my mom and put her back into depression. After some time, though, I finally began to except the fact that my mom might actually start enjoying herself again. That's when I started to like him, because of what he was doing for my mom.

But when he moved in, I got a little edgy again. Mom said it was for financial support; she was having a hard time supporting me and the apartment on her own. So, yes, I had to learn to accept that fact, too.

By this time, I was about, what, 13 years old? For over a year they lived together, nothing but the occasional argument splitting between them. And over that year, I got comfortable around him, began telling him secrets, things about me...

Shit, was that a big mistake...

They never got married, but over some time it sure seemed like they did. It didn't make me mad, but I knew it should have. I grew into adolescence and got all rebellious. I would get into fights with my "dad" about stupid things, using the infamous 'you're not my dad!' line against him. I guess it began pissing him off, and he took to drinking.

There went mistake number two...It was all downhill from there (Catalyst you insist to pull me down! You contradict the fact that...uh...yeah, sorry, heh.)...

Well, my real dad didn't do that sort of thing, and me and Mom couldn't adapt to it that quickly to his crazy mood swings.

When I turned 16, he started making these...comments. Shit, it scared me so bad. I don't think I trusted anyone enough to tell anybody what they were...

And before you know it, there's the third and final mistake. I was such an idiot...such a freaking idiot...

Right after my birthday, sometime during the same month, I finally caught on to Mom's flinching. No matter who did it, she would start wincing at the slightest touch to her left shoulder. I discovered a bruise there. No, it wasn't the fact that there was a bruise there, I didn't think "dad" hit her or anything (at that time, and no, he really didn't); I mean, people get bruises daily due to accidents. The real thing was that the dumb bruise wouldn't go away, even after months from receiving it.

I told this to some of my friends while hanging with them one summer day. One of them suggested she might have a blood problem. I tried to shrug it off, but it bothered me from time to time so I finally asked her to go to a hospital. She said I was being silly. Then, she cut herself with a knife while cooking dinner, and the equally dumb (to the bruise) cut wouldn't stop bleeding, even though it was teeny.

My mom's 'silly' problem ended up being AML (acute myeloid leukemia). It was discovered a bit late, though, but they still attempted chemotherapy.

All the while she stayed at the hospital, and I had to stay at home with my drunken "father" and suffer under his leering gaze. I tried to go out with my friends as much as humanely possible, just to get out of there. And it worked to a certain extent.

My mom wasn't doing too hot either. If the chemotherapy was successful, the doctors could ensure up to five years, then another treatment. The bad part was that Mom's body was agreeing with the things put into her system and she had a relapse. Do I need to say it? She didn't live.

All the years I spent recovering over my dad seemed to crumble away. I cried every two seconds. The worst part was that there was no one to mourn with. My supposable father figure took it by getting drunk off his ass, trying to block out the whole thing. My friends... They just couldn't understand what I was going through. I blocked out everything. I didn't go out, I didn't eat, I didn't do anything.

"Dad" lasted a week...One week before he drunkenly brought some bimbo into my mom's hard earned apartment. At least 5 years they had been together, how could someone be so cruel?! So freaking insensitive as to forget someone you knew and dated for over 5 years and throw it all away to some college girl you probably only knew for 5 minutes? It pissed me off. I lashed out at him the night after, when she had left.

You know what he did? He hit me. That bastard hit me in the face. He yelled at me the whole time, saying it was my fault Mom died. Too weak from crying, from screaming, from everything, I couldn't even put up a decent fight. He left some time after that. For what reason, I couldn't tell. That was the first night.

The second night would bring me closer to hell than I felt comfortable with.

The incident came and went, like it was nothing. He came home the next night and avoided me, like I did him. It went for a week, then a month. I don't know how I survived. I think I lived off my friends, providing payment for my own meals through my meager earnings from my equally meager job that I got through my boyfriend.

Yes, I was stupid enough not to tell anybody, concealing the ugly bruise on my face from my friends with makeup and a made-up story. Shit, I was stupid!

July 3, he asked for forgiveness from me. He looked cleaner and more composed. Skeptical, I brushed it off by ditching him for my friends again before I could actually answer...I can't say...if that was the smart thing to do or not.

July 4... I planned to once again go out with my boyfriend. But, that...was the second night I spoke of. "Dad" must have been trying to break from his drinking habits to apologize to me, but since it had all for naught, he probably ditched the idea and got drunk all over again. When he found out I was going out with my friends again, he got angry and said I wasn't spending enough time here, that I was getting involved with drugs and alcohol and shit.

I said a witty little retort (somewhere along the lines of "You would know...") and it pissed him off. Pushed him to violence. We argued for an hour, tops, before he actually got physical on me.

I think it went a little further than either of us intended, and before I knew it he was threatening me with a knife. I backed into what used to be my mother's bedroom, and I guess a suggestion dawned on him.

In a bedroom, by myself, with a drunken maniac wielding a knife. I don't think I can make it any plainer.

He got as far as tearing off my clothes with the help of his trusty knife friend, giving me a few 'cuts' along the way. Then, I finally scored my kicking him between the legs, a move I later began to use a lot. Ha, bitch. Served you right.

I didn't get away, he grabbed my hair before I could escape the room, but he didn't try to rape me afterwards. He must've decided it was too much of a hassle...or he didn't have much of a manhood after the kick I gave him. Either way, he managed to crack something over my head and I saw stars for a minute. I was shoved.

When the stars went away, I was in the master bathroom. I backed away, the sound of running water in my ears. Whether it was coming from the sink or the shower, I didn't know, my tears obscuring everything. I soon found out when I backed all the way into the bathtub and toppled into it; it was halfway filled with water, and the faucet was still going. I splashed around uselessly in the large tub and soon his hands joined me, holding me down... closing around my throat... sounds become far away as my hands become to weak to claw at his wrists anymore...

I couldn't breathe and I tried to scream for the first time. Pretty pathetic, huh? I thought I drowned, everything went black. I woke up some minutes later, coughing up water all over the place. Someone was shaking me awake, telling me it would be okay. It turned out to be my boyfriend. The situation had to have some sort of irony to it... me sitting next to the bathtub with next to nothing but tatters of cloth twisted in an almost suffocating way around me, bleeding everywhere...

I accidentally left my key with him yesterday and he used it when I didn't answer the door. He came in without my "father's" knowing, and when he saw him holding me down, he smashed the nearest thing–a desk chair–over his head. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe he–my "dad" that is–would actually, or at least try to, do that to me.

I moved away and lived with an aunt of mine I didn't even know existed. She lived in America, though, so it was good-bye Tokyo...that is, after I testified against my so-called dad. It was a lot harder than I expected, but I still did it. His punishment, some years in jail. My punishment...The bruises on my neck faded physically but not emotionally. I still have long, white scars marring my waist and upper legs. And somehow life went on...

(=b)

Somewhere along the story I had broken away from Kenshin and walked to the railing, hugging myself and letting the wind embrace me instead. Call me paranoid, but, yeah, I felt just a little unnerved by the whole re-living moment.

The temperature was hot, but I felt frozen and barren inside. I ignored it and continued staring out to the sea after finishing. The silence was deafening.

"Did you ever see him again?" a distant voice asked.

"Nope," I said, hate covering my voice. "He hung himself in jail."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm not." I closed my eyes and let loose a wavering sigh. I had cried a little bit, but not too much after I stopped. I guess I was acting a bit cold, wasn't I? That was how I tended to act after crying, feeling a little vulnerable, I guess. I shook my head, trying to remove the lasting images of my past, and forced myself to turn away from the water and 10th floor view.

"I guess it's pretty–" My voice caught in my throat and I gasped lightly. Kenshin was right behind me. How did he do that? Before I could even say anything, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. It was nice, but after a while I began asking myself what he was doing, which was dumb because I had no idea.

"You looked like you needed one," he said softly in response to the unvoiced question. I hugged him back on impulse, and it was a minute before we broke apart, his hands still clutching my elbows. I looked at him, surprised. He was fondly looking back at me, but he looked different than usual. He looked lost in his own little world, the expression in his eyes vacant. It caught me unawares, and I found myself stuttering an excuse, the companionable silence rapidly turning uncomfortable.

"Uhm, I need to..." I began, stuttering nervously as I pulled away from his grasp, an unwanted desire creeping into my senses. "...to go to sleep, uh...yeah," I found myself finishing lamely. Kenshin's eyes widened a bit as if he just realized I was there, and now he was staring at me with strangely unguarded eyes. He suddenly seemed too close. "Uh, right then...goodnight." My heart suddenly started pounding in my ears, expressing a sudden need to put distance between myself and Kenshin.

"Goodnight?" he responded dumbly, his hands a little reluctant to let go of me. I think he was referring to how it was actually morning.

"Morning, whatever!" I said, backing away a little before turning around and walking away so fast it could've been mistaken for running.

I hurried into the ship and found a nice quiet area (well, seeing as it was 3 o' something in the morning, there weren't many populated areas...) to myself. I leaned against the wall and found myself slowly sliding down it, exhausted and somewhat flustered. Shit, but that was a close one! Close to what, I had no clue, but I had a vague impression that it was not going to be a particularly _bad_ thing, but in fact a mischievously _good_ thing.

Which was...bad? I sighed. I'm confused again.

I blew the bangs from my face in another exhaling sigh, and dragged myself miserably to my feet. 'My defenses were breaking down and there would be no stopping it once they were gone...' I accepted, brushing one hand through my disheveled hair. Moodiness, one of these said slipping defenses, was something I had somehow adapted to after the whole 'childhood trauma' thing, always being defensive and caustic in my behavior. It was the automatic first impression I tried to make to people I didn't like...people I didn't trust, trying to scare them away before they could hurt me. I guess...I was paranoid. Maybe that's how Misao was acting during the beginning of this trip.

I began walking tiredly towards the stairs. To where I was going, I wasn't too sure. I hoped that Kenshin would arrive at the room and go to sleep before me, so I didn't have to say anything to him. I felt like I had robbed him of something, and there was that misleading suspicion of mine again that told me I knew what it was.

But first, I had to return Soujirou's key...

(=P)

I woke up the next morning feeling tired and disorientated. I groaned and sat up, rubbing at my eyes.

"Wakey, wakey, Kaoru..." I looked up towards the voice and discovered Misao sitting in the window frame, dangling one leg lazily. Well, here it comes... "Good morning! Actually, good afternoon, you woke up really late!"

"I did?" I wasn't really puzzled by that; I was really wondering why she wasn't yelling at me for leaving everyone. And where Kenshin was, though I wasn't too dissatisfied with the fact he wasn't here.

"Yeah! What time is it again, Sou-chan?"

"Two o' clock," replied a feeble voice in the corner. My eyes went to that spot and found Soujirou sitting there, holding his head, but still smiling widely. I guess Misao had gotten some information from him.

I looked around. Aoshi leaning on the wall...that's it? I sighed with a mixture of relief and stress.

"Guess what!? We're going to arrive in Cozumel in a few hours! Isn't that cool? I can't wait!" Misao informed me excitedly. I pulled myself hesitantly out of bed, yawning. Today, I decided, was going to be an exceptionally long day...

A.N.-Uh, I guess you realized that I realized that it's harder to juggle two stories with weekly updates. Well, I decided I couldn't put it off any longer, so here is your depressing/mental reflection chapter. It's all I could come up with on short ::cough::procrastinator::cough:: notice. Please review, I'm sorry if I can't respond, I'm scared to get banned from posting! Yeah, thanks for putting up with me...

Biography-researched information on leukemia; forgot the website name, and even if I knew it, ff.net would just strip it, so just search for leukemia under Yahoo's® search engine and click on the top few sites; I used a few.


	8. Chapter 8

AN- Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to update regularly. My excuse? Well, actually there's a really funny story about th–ACK! ::dodges tomatoes:: Well, you all are a bunch of poop noggins, anyways! So, there! Wait, don't leave!

Disclaimer-No, I don't own RK. Thank you for asking and for even caring.

Unfortunately, I was right. Sano somehow collided with me and he kept pestering me for money, since he had lost all his at the casino last night. After explaining that, even if I wanted to, I couldn't possibly lend him any money because it was all on that dumb card and I couldn't just break it in half and give it to him, he still followed me around, saying he couldn't find Kenshin, Megumi was getting ready for the ship's arrival at Mexico, and I was the only one available. The hours seemed like eternities with him and Misao leaping at opportunities to insult each other.

Cozumel was awesome, if not extremely hot in the climate. The water was so clear you could see straight to the ocean's bottom. Well, it was pretty shallow to start with, but it was still amazingly clear. Mexicans in funny, feathery costumes were on the docks, greeting the tourists and taking pictures with them. I would've said I hated tourists, but that would be hypocritical, seeing as I was one at the moment.

Misao dragged Aoshi, Soujirou, and me to all the little shops and stands she set eyes on. Of course, the ship's credit cards didn't count here, but for a few bucks (few bucks, my ass! The stuff is way overpriced there!) you could buy some souvenirs. And sure enough, by the time we boarded the stationary ship that night, Misao was loaded with Cozumel merchandise, ranging from shirts to the little marionettes they carried at the small stands.

"Tomorrow, we're going snorkeling!" she told me happily as we departed, a disheveled Aoshi standing behind her. He must've hated the heat wave; I know I did. Summer in Texas had nothing on this. Soujirou looked just as miserable, somehow still smiling despite that.

"I know, so am I," I said to Misao.

"Really? Cool! So I guess I'll see you then! 'Night!"

"Yeah..." I waved until they were out of sight, then turned. I walked through the ship to the sundeck. With the usual breeze missing, the climate was close to intolerable. I pushed my way through the crowd to the sun tanning area and sat down. It was getting dark, so there weren't many people there. Just a few couples by the railing, holding hands and obviously looking for seclusion.

I laid back on one of the plastic settees and gazed at the quickly appearing stars, not really taking it in. Usually, I would have gone straight to the room, taken a shower, and gone to sleep. But, I was still trying to avoid Kenshin. Going to the room right now was not an option for me.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was being pretty stupid about the whole thing, really. But my feelings toward Kenshin brought about confusion, which throughly pissed me off.

I shook my head slightly, trying to remove the thoughts in my head. It didn't work. I shouldn't have lied down; I was about to fall asleep...

(=P)

I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping...

And realizing my face was inches away from Kenshin's.

He looked scared. Well, for one, he wasn't _on_ me; he was leaning over me. Scaring me, nonetheless, I released whatever fabric that was in my hands and socked him full in the face on impulse. He staggered back and toppled over a random plastic chair, cussing. I sat up quickly, trying to focus. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. (Maroon 5 rocks my socks to Fort Knox, dude!)

"_What the hell were you doing!?_" two voices yelled. I recognized one as my own and the other one as Kenshin's.

"Me?" I managed to beat him to accusing him. "I fell asleep and woke up with you on me! The question is what were _you_ doing, you pervert?!"

"Fucking fuck, woman, all I was doing was coming outside to fucking smoke, and I saw you there and went to go check on you and you grabbed me!" he snapped back, holding his swollen cheek in his left hand and staggering to his feet. "Fucking brilliant right hook, by the way."

That was impossible. A lie. I opened my mouth, then bit my lower lip to prevent any protest about to burst free. Was it? I had another dream, but it wasn't a stupid one, or a scary one, it was more of the ...well, it was personal. And it had something to do with the redhead in front of me. I suddenly swallowed and shuddered. Well, that would explain the fabric in my hands; his shirt. I blushed violently to think what would've happened if I hadn't woken up now.

"Oh, uh, you s-see-uhm...I-I I thought you were...it was; I was fanta--dreaming! I was dreaming!-- and y-you...you were...uh..." If it was hot outside, it was nothing compared to the heat rising in my face. It was so embarrassing.

And by then, Kenshin had already up-righted the chair he knocked over and sat down in it. He was looking at me with a skeptical fixed stare while I was babbling, making me all the less comfortable.

I finished with a lame little cough, accompanied by a small fake laugh and a clearing of the throat, feeling as if I had just told my dad–my real dad– a bold lie to his face; awaiting the judgement.

I suppose it wasn't the best way to confront Kenshin about what could've almost might have happened last night. After all, it could've almost might have happened again! And I suppose he deserved what I felt about it.

"I..." My mouth shut right after I opened it. I just realized the logic worked the other way around. If he wouldn't tell me his feelings first, then I won't tell him mine. Very adult-like of me, I know.

"You know, some times I really wonder what goes on in that pretty little head of yours," he said, still looking at me in a doubtful way. I opened my mouth to respond and he cut me off. "Then again, some times I really don't want to know."

Shutting my mouth once again with a snap, I glared at him. I was going to thank him, but fine! He laughed at me.

"I met someone who said they could read minds..." Kenshin said.

I rolled my eyes. "Who?"

"Some lady at this carnival I went to when I was younger," he shrugged. "She said if we thought about our ages she could guess them. It was really dumb. You got a prize if she guessed wrong. Well, I was 15, and she guessed I was 12. She asked me if that's what I was thinking and I said I was trying to think of an explanation for why her breasts were so small. She gave me a black eye, and when I asked for my prize, she gave me another black eye."

"You deserved it," I said, surprised someone would actually do that.

"What more could you expect from a guy who grew up in an asylum? They treated me like I was a fucking psycho there."

"Well, that explains everything," I muttered before I could stop myself. My eyes widened a bit and I began to apologize profusely. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, I–"

Kenshin was laughing. "Yeah, I guess I act like a complete dipshit every now and then."

Now and then? More like all the time... I quickly silenced myself, lest I said insulted him again.

"I learned how to read people's palms there," he said, obviously humored. "I guess that can tell you what type of crack heads lived in that place."

"Really?" I said skeptically.

"Yeah," he said, looking at me in response to my skepticism. "What? You don't believe me? Here, give me your hand. I'll show you."

I hesitantly held out my hand. He took it and scrutinized my palm closely.

"Uh, this is how long you are going to live..."He ran his finger across one of the creases in my hand. "I think... well, if that's right, you're probably going to die tomorrow, 'cause it's really small... And this is how much money you're going to make... And this is...well, it's...It has something to do with your love life, but it's really long, so I guess that's good... I guess it shows how long you can fuck somebody, or something..."

"That's stupid!" I snapped, yanking my hand away from him. He suddenly looked shocked and grabbed my hand back. I pulled on it. "What're you doing, give me--"

"Stop!" he demanded, flipping my hand face-up. I blinked at his serious tone and stopped, looking down at my hand.

Or rather, my wrist. There were about six white scars, long and short, marring my lower forearm. They were barely visible on my pale skin, but Kenshin had somehow managed to spot them.

"When did you do this?" he asked in a tone bordering on harsh and sympathetic. His thumb ran over one of the pale lines.

"...Once, a while after my dad died," I said after a pause, biting the inside of my cheek hard. "And..." I sighed shakily. No, he didn't have to know that.

"And?" he said expectantly, his eyes going up my arm to my face. I looked away. A metallic taste touched my tongue and I realized I had bit my cheek so hard it started bleeding. I pulled on my hand slowly.

"Kaoru..." he protested in a low voice, his left hand going to my wrist as well. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I momentarily forgot the small pain blossoming in my cheek and yanked my hand away. "No," I said roughly, swinging my legs around the chair I was sitting on. "No. I don't want to talk about it. And I never wanted to talk to you about what happened to me. It wasn't supposed to happen."

I stood up and started walking, held-back tears blocking my vision. I cry easily, as you can see.

Kenshin's hand closed around my upper arm. "Kaoru... Tell me what happened..." I stiffened, and slowly turned around.

"I'll tell you something; Don't tell me what to do. Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?" I growled. His eyes fixed onto mine, surprised and yet unwavering.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl who suffered through a shitty childhood. She thought things would get better when she moved away, but you know what? They didn't. Once she recovered from the shock of her past, she met someone she thought would help her. But instead they took advantage of her and broke her heart and spirit into little pieces. She tried to commit suicide for the second time. That didn't work either. So she resigned to never open up to anyone again. That, predictably, didn't work either. And she lived miserably ever after. Some stories just don't have happy endings."

I was aware I had begun to ramble. The problem was once I started, I couldn't stop. I guess it really wasn't healthy to bottle up all those negative feelings of mine. My tears fell faster then I could catch them and they spilled down my cheeks. I made a strangled noise as I tried to talk, to tell Kenshin that I hated him, he was going to do to me what everybody else did. My knees buckled and he crushed me to him to prevent me from collapsing.

Kenshin slowly slid to his knees, bringing me with him. I began babbling an apology and he told me to shut the hell up and keep crying. I guess you could say that was the first time I really broke down. That wasn't supposed to happen either. But I guess it was too late for regret, wasn't it?

Only God knows how long I sat there in his arms, my face buried in his shirt and my arms wrapped around his waist tightly. His hand running up and down my back, up and down, up and down, up and...down...up...

I think I nodded off after the initial bout of crying. Or at least tried to. Kenshin must have somehow sensed I was going to fall asleep and his hands gripped my upper arms. He tried to pry me off of him and I responded by sniffling an incoherent complaint into his chest.

"Kaoru, let go, I can't breathe anymore," he said in a raspy voice. I grudgingly let go of him and pulled away, feeling ashamed. Kenshin didn't let go of my arms, though. My gaze was glued to the ground. All I could think was that this wasn't supposed to happen again, it wasn't supposed to happen in the first place.

"Kaoru," he began. I shook my head silently. His eyes played mind tricks, I just knew it, and I wasn't to be the sucker again. But you can bet when his hand went under my chin and slowly pulled my head to face him my eyes widened. I involuntarily swallowed.

"Promise me you'll never try to do that again," he said, looking straight into my eyes. My breath was caught in my throat and I opened my mouth soundlessly, then closed it.

"I-I...Kensh--"

"Promise?"

"...I can't, I...I promise," I finally said. The last two words came out very quietly, like I had run out of voice (yes, that isn't proper grammar, how kind of you to notice!). It was more of a whisper.

"Good," he said. Well, if that's it, then why was he still holding me? Something wasn't right here... "And Kaoru...?"

"Yes?" I felt like I was being pulled forward. But I was pretty sure I wasn't...was I? I was.

And then I knew...

AN- HAW HAW HAW! I just ripped you guys off! Not only was the chapter short, but it left you suspecting...HAW! Anyways, before you leave to hunt me down and kick my ass, lemme tell you that I suck at writing romance, angst, and any other dramatic situational irony related genre. Come to think about it, I suck at everything! Haw! Well, the real thing I wanted to tell you was that I'm going to Texas to see my family for like 2 months, so updates might not be a frequent. (Come to think of it, my updates never were frequent! HAW! Man, I need to stop doing that...)

Well, that's the end of this wOOtilicious ipdate. Please stay tuned and review! This story's end is close...I CAN SMELL IT! Well, no I can't but...yeah!


	9. Chapter 9

AN- Okay, here it is. I'm still in Texas, and I'm staying. Sorry, it took a while to get situated here and...Anyways; I'm rushing to get this out. Yes, it sucks. In fact, I'm thinking about scrapping this piece o' shit story. Too long. Lost plot. Can't find an appropriate ending. You name the problem, this story's got it. If I get a positive feedback, I'll keep it up, but...::sigh:: I doubt that's gonna happen. Maybe I'll revise it...

Disclaimer- Don't own any rk related...uh...characters, I guess. The shitty story concept plot (what is this plot you speak of?) is mine, though.

I think it lasted a little longer than either of us planned. Okay, it lasted a whole lot longer than _he_ planned. The minute our lips connected I had every intention of shoving him away and screaming. Then...I just didn't. It wasn't that I didn't _not_ want to...it was...uh...It was just that I hadn't kissed somebody for so long, and... I just liked it, okay?! If there was _one_ (cough) thing I'd admit to, it was that I...well...I kind of stopped him from stopping himself...by, um, holding him in place...you know, putting my hands on the sides of his face. He pulled away and I pulled him back. He started it...and I finished it.

That's when I ran out of breath and came crashing back to earth. My eyes, puffy and swollen from the previous crying, fluttered open. Kenshin's eyes were already wide open and his breathing was a little faster than usual, and for a split second I wanted nothing more than to kiss him again.

"Shit..." he whispered, his hands leaping away from my waist. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world but here. Suddenly, I felt it too. I remembered all the shit I went through and my empty promises to myself of never doing it again. My arms uncoiled from his neck and I cast my gaze downwards, regret filling my conscience.

"Listen, Kenshin, I--"

"No," he interrupted. I watched his hands curl up into fists at his sides, a strained expression on his face. "I...I can't..."

"You can't what?" I asked curiously, trying not to notice the constantly growing tension.

Kenshin slowly began to stand. I grabbed his arm and he sighed.

"What can't you do? What's wrong?" I repeated. There was unmistakable worry in my voice. I think my emotions were being to get a little hysterical (and no, not in the funny way).

He opened his eyes. I couldn't read them to save my life. I think he was hiding himself from me. The thing I didn't know was why, and I think it was starting to piss me off.

"Kaoru..." Kenshin sighed, crouching back down to my level and took my hand in his. "Are you okay now?"

"If I said I was, would you leave me?" I asked softly, trying to make eye contact. That was proving to be a hard task in itself, being that every time I managed to catch his gaze, he looked away.

He was silent. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. One minute we were so close I trusted him enough to tell him my darkest secret (_and_ even kiss him right afterwards!), and now...he's avoiding me. Great. Just perfect. Kenshin started to talk again.

"You should go...inside. It's...uh, getting a little cold," he said, evasive. I raised my eyebrows.

"It's 90 (plus) degrees outside, I think I'll be alright," I said just a little more bitterly than I meant to. "If you want me to leave, just ask and I'll be gone." I snatched my hand away. Kenshin's eyes widened and he grabbed my hand back.

"I didn't mean it like that, Kaoru; I just...need some time alone..."

I pulled my hand away again and staggered to my feet. Okay. First you kiss me and then you need some time alone. That had to be the most unromantic moment I've ever had. I started to walk away and he stood up in front of me. I pushed my way past him and kept walking.

"Wait! Kaoru!" When he called me, I got just a little bit angrier. I suddenly turned around in frustration.

"What do you want me to do? Make up your mind!" I snapped, a little more violently than I meant to. Actually, I didn't mean to say anything. I meant to keep walking and ignore him. Damn it. I was losing control of myself again. "Do you want me here or not?"

Kenshin looked shocked. He wasn't the only one. But he didn't say anything for a minute, so I turned on my heel.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I muttered. I wasn't sure if he was going to follow me or not.

On my way downstairs, I passed Megumi of all people. She looked pissed, too, but she didn't say anything to me, so I kept my mouth shut. Then I found Sano at the bottom of the stairs (surprise, surprise). I tried to walk past him without a confrontation, but I guess he recognized me anyway.

"Yo! Missy!" he called. "Can you help me with something? ...Missy?" I stopped and tried to think of an excuse.

"Kaoru!" I heard Kenshin shout from the deck. I shook my head and started walking again, a little faster this time.

"Oi! Your boyfriends calling!" Sano called after me. I bit back a retort and flicked him off. He said something else, but by then I was too far away to hear him.

I turned around and went inside. There were still quite a few people out and about. I guess it couldn't be that late. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was where I was going to hide...

Damn it. I was tired of hiding from Kenshin.

I sighed and started walking. And walking. And walking. I let my feet carry me to where ever they wanted to. I ended up at the room. Our room.

I looked at the door blankly for a minute. It took me just a few minutes to fit the key card correctly into the lock and walk in.

When I finally got inside, I got out some fresh towels and took a shower. Actually, I locked myself in the bathroom and turned on the water. All I did was sit on the shower floor, curled up in a little ball.

What was wrong with him? One moment were making out, the next... I'm sitting on the shower floor like an idiot and he's off having "alone time". There was something seriously wrong here, and I doubt (and hope) it's not me.

Sure, I was having regrets...very _large_ regrets--about this whole thing, but it's a little late for that, now isn't it? I wasn't the one avoiding him... Okay, wait. Forget I said that. What I meant was that I didn't start shoving him away until he started doing that to me. _He_ started it, I didn't. He always starts it...

I covered my eyes with hands. "Damn you, Kenshin," I muttered. "Why can't I hate you?"

For a second, I thought I heard Kenshin answer me, but it was just his voice, I couldn't really understand exactly what he said. And besides, he wasn't around here anyway. He was having "alone" time...

I sighed miserably. This vacation sucked. There was no other way to put it. It sucked ass. My head started pounding. I rubbed at my temples.

...Wait. Something wasn't right. I stopped massaging my forehead and listened closely. Besides the shower, something else was making some knocking noise... Oh well. Maybe it was my imagination.

Then again...it could be Kenshin. I sighed and got up. The pounding had stopped, but I decided to check anyway. Without turning off the water (being that there was a peephole in the door...yes, the bathroom door...), I threw the curtains back and...

...And then the handle went down, making a loud snapping noise as it did. Sano burst through the door, shouting my name in a worried tone, half the door handle (it's not a knob...) in his hand.

He looked at me and I looked back at him.

Then I screamed. He backed up and toppled over the toilet like a complete idiot. I pulled the curtain back over me, leaving only my face exposed.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing here, Sano!?" I shouted. "And how the hell did you get a key!? What did you do to my bathroom door!? Go away!"

Sano stumbled to his feet, his left hand over his eyes and his right hand groping around blindly. "Damn," he grinned. "Sorry, Missy, I thought..." He broke off and started laughing. "Damn."

"What? What!?" I snapped. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing..." Sano stopped wandering around and smiled. "I just think you have a very nice rack."

Since he wasn't looking anyway, I grabbed a towel off the floor and hastily wrapped it around me. Then I took a shampoo bottle and proceeded to beat the shit out of his head with it.

"Oi! Shit, it was just a—Ow! Okay, okay, I'm leaving, I'm—ow!—leaving!" Sano stumbled out the door with a handful of bruises covering his spiky head.

Twenty minutes later, I find myself still sitting in the bathroom. The water was off and I was ready to get dressed, but I didn't want to with the man on the other side of the door watching.

"Go away, Sano," I said impatiently.

"C'mon, Missy, I was just kidding. Besides, it was a compliment." Sano's voice sounded muffled from outside.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

"I'm not in the mood for your dumb jokes right now, okay?"

"I'm serious. Come on, please? It has something to do with your boyfriend..."

I twitched. "I don't have a boyfriend. And if I did, I would be mad at him anyways."

"So..." Sano started slowly, "Say this...hypothetical...boyfriend said he was sorry, would you hypothetically forgive him...?"

"Not if he 'hypothetically' said it through someone else," I muttered, just loud enough for Sano to hear me.

"What if he hypothetically..."

"Sano?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." I sighed and got up, pushing my way out of the now broken bathroom door. "If Kenshin wants to say anything to me, he can say it to my face."

"Hypothetically?" Sano asked, hypothe—I mean...—apparently confused. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, sitting on the bed. Sano followed suit and sat next to me. "C'mon, Missy, do you want to talk about it?"

"About what? How the hell do you know everything?" I asked, close to tears. Why doesn't everyone just mind their own business? They didn't see me nosing around in their personal lives... I buried my face in my hands. "Why are you doing this? Is it funny to you?"

"I'm just trying to help you," he stated, his voice filled with indignant hurt. Actually, I think it was fake hurt. "And, by the way, I didn't know anything. I just guessed. Judging by your reaction, I'd say I was right."

"You guessed...Riiiight."

"I'm serious. So, tell me what happened."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Please?"

"_No!_" I snapped, turning away. I told one person about my problems and look where it got me. More problems. Oh, joy.

"Tell me what happened, and I'll tell you what mop-head told me," Sano grinned, leaning over my shoulder.

"What did he tell you?!" I demanded, my interest sparked. I can't believe Kenshin told him!

"Ladies first," he said pleasantly (Riiight again).

"I...We..." My lip trembled. I can't cry. I wasn't going to, there was no way I was going to... okay, I cried, _again_...but it seemed like everyone and everything was closing in on me...and everything was collapsing. It really wasn't that much...just a few tears...I wasn't sobbing like I was with Kenshin.

Sano hugged me, but it wasn't very comforting at all. He started it. I stopped crying and pulled away.

"Oh, alright, I'll tell you," he groaned, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't know where he is now, but he told me he screwed it up really bad with you. He said 'he didn't something he shouldn't have' and he asked me to help him. Actually, we made a de—never mind. Anyways..."

"Wait, what were you going to say?"

He sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. "Deal. We made a deal. I would talk to you and try and patch stuff up with you two, and he..."

"Two? Us _two_? As in we are an _item_?!"

"Don't you get it, Missy?" Sano asked, an exasperated tone to his voice. "Mop-head has had his eye on you since we all met! Well, since the start of our little cruise trip..."

It took a while for this to sink in.

"Do you remember that night?" Sano suddenly asked. "The night we all spent at the hotel?"

I rolled my eyes. "You mean the night where Kenshin got drunk off his ass and you woke me up at four in the morning?"

"Yeah. Well, he told me...some... He told me then. There. Anyways..."

"No!" I interrupted. "Tell me what happened! Tell me everything!"

Sano groaned again. "This isn't what I came here for..."

"Tell me or I'll beat you up."

He laughed and I punched him. "Sano! Tell me, please! Please?"

"Okay, okay, calm down!" he said, moving away from my fists. "Since you put it that way, I guess I could tell you..."

AN-::doubly sigh:: I don't like it. School's gonna interfere again, so be prepared for any (maybe possible, seeing what the people's reactions are) moody chapter changes...I'm still trying to learn this whole planning out story thing, long-term stories, ya know? Help me out with some criticism! Be nice though...

Thanks to those who supported this story, I really, really appreciate it. I seriously don't deserve you...Thanks again...


	10. Chapter 10

AN-Hello, all. I'm back, after all these weeks, with a new chapter and a new resolve. School's being a real pain in my ass right now, so that's where the late updates are coming from. Anyways, the good news is that I've already written a page or two of the next upcoming chapter. So yay me! This story's staying, and I've decided to revise it later (cough), but then again, that may just be because I'm in a good mood. Anyways, again, on with the crappy chappy!

Warnings-OOC, AU, anything else I previously mentioned in other chapters, whatever.

Disclaimer-See some other chapter, I've typed it about a million times! Grrgh.

It was hot. Really hot.

I had no idea where my clothes were and for that fact, I didn't care. My skin was slippery with sweat and in any other situation I would have found it gross. Right now, I loved it. I wanted it to last forever.

Then I woke up.

(D)

My eyes shot open and I found myself gasping for air. That was kind of hard, seeing as my face was buried in a pillow. The rest of me was covered in a cold sweat.

I slowly looked up from the pillow, my eyes scanning the room nervously for some sign of life. Good. No one.

My gaze went back to my own body. Good Lord, I was naked. The blankets covered most of my top half, and my legs were the only things revealed. That wasn't too comforting. It looked like I was wearing an inch long mini-skirt.

I hurriedly sat up and covered my whole body with the blanket, including my head. My face was burning and it was spreading like a wildfire to my neck. What if _he_ came in and saw me wearing nothing? That would be so embarrassing! What if he touched me or something?! I made a strangled noise in the back of my throat, biting my lip.

No... My thoughts suddenly turned bitter. He was probably out the whole night, having his stupid alone time all by his stupid self... My worry transformed into anger and I felt like breaking something.

I sat up and furiously began fixing my bed. Afterwards I got dressed, muttering to myself about how stupid Kenshin was and how stupid _I_ was for ever giving him a chance. After I finished, I focused entirely on my thoughts. Suddenly, I felt like crying.

Why didn't he like me anymore?! I could've taken it if he just told me why, but now, I guess I'd never know...

Unless I asked him, but if he didn't want to kiss me, then why would he want to talk to me? Sano hadn't been that much of a wealth of information. He started to tell me his story, then stopped and said 'it wouldn't be fair to mop-head...'

"_It's his business and if he wants to tell you, then that's his choice. Sorry, Missy. He likes you a lot though, so don't give up on him. I guess that didn't help much, did it? Oh, well. So what were you going to say?"_

Needless to say, I beat the crap out of Sano. Oh, well.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. I could stay here and wait for Kenshin, and talk this whole thing out, but then again, I felt like I needed some time alone. Just like an hour, or something. I had a...uhm...dream last night and I didn't think I could be in the same room with him for two seconds without...doing...something. That stupid mistake of a kiss went to my head. After all, it was a very _good_ kiss. I can only imagine what he's like in—

_What the hell am I thinking?!!_ I pinched myself really hard and looked at the wall, considering bashing my head against it.

Maybe I should find Sano and see where Kenshin was last night, not to mention find out where he was right now.

I sighed. Damn it! I hated this! It had to end today, or else I'll go insane. I looked at the two parallel half-moons engraved on my skin where I had pinched myself.

...Actually, I think it's a bit late for that. I got up and left, trying to ignore the pounding in my head.

(D)

I didn't go too far. Only next door, to find Sano. I pounded on his door until he opened it.

"What the hell is the matter with...? Missy?" His facial expression changed from annoyance to surprise. "What brings you to this crappy little room, eh?"

"Where's Ke--"

"Mop-head?" Sano interrupted. "I have absolutely no idea. I thought he was taking a shower."

"Taking a shower?" I raised my eyebrows, not bothering to hide my suspicion. Sano ran his hand through his messy brown hair, exasperated.

"Hello, the girl he likes and made out with last night is tossing around and moaning in her bed with no clothes on. Shit, Missy, I didn't think you actually _had_ dreams like that!" He looked almost embarrassed...almost; his expression was too hard to read. I couldn't tell if he was dead serious or just joking around.

My mouth fell open. Oh, shit. I couldn't think of anything to say. That was so embarrassing. Damn... That was really, _really_ embarrassing. I opened and closed my mouth, feeling like the stupidest person alive.

"I...I-I...You...You're joking...?" I said disbelievingly. Sano didn't say anything; he just kept staring at me, confirming my fears. After a while, he finally started talking again.

"I didn't know you slept naked," he said, more to himself than to me. He suddenly smiled. "I wish my girlfriend slept naked."

"I...don't..." I stuttered, covering my face with my hands. The temperature in my face was probably about a million degrees, and it wasn't going down. "God... That's embarrassing," I said without meaning to.

"Yeah, must've been," he said casually, grinning lopsidedly. I shot a glare at him.

"Don't say anything," I snapped irritably. "Just...tell...him...that...I-I...uhm..." I took a deep breath. "Tell him that I'm looking for him." Sano's eyes widened and he gasped dramatically.

"Oh my gosh, Missy's actually looking for her mop-head of a boyfriend!" he exclaimed. I punched him.

"Just tell him if you see him, okay?!" I stopped and thought for a while. "And he's not my boyfriend, dammit!"

"Right..." he said skeptically. "Then who was the one screw--"

"Shut up," I growled, turning on my heel.

(D)

I found Misao eating breakfast with Soujirou and Aoshi. She looked surprised to see me.

"Hey, Kaoru, where were you?!" she exclaimed, gesturing to a chair. I sat down in it and buried my face in my hands. "I thought you said you were going..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said. "I woke up late, and some...things came up." I uncovered my face, still avoiding her gaze. "Sorry," I added after a while. I wonder... "Have any of you seen Kenshin?"

No one said anything for a while. I hate it when that happens. I looked up, expecting everyone to be looking at me, but instead, they were all looking at each other. Shit. They all knew something that I didn't. I hate that, too.

"Not a single clue. Haven't seen him all morning," Misao said suddenly. "Right, Aoshi?"

"...Ah." There was definite hesitance in his answer and I couldn't determine if he was trying to hide something from me. I eyed them all suspiciously. Soujirou was toying with his food, avoiding my prying stare, Misao was grinning widely, and Aoshi wasn't relatively looking anywhere.

I sighed and got up. Everyone's out to get me.

Misao watched me get up, her grin fading. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern filling her voice. I nodded, turning away.

"I'm just a little stressed out," I replied, turning away. I started to leave.

"Wait, Kaoru, where are you going?" Misao persisted.

"I don't know..." I didn't stop walking. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions again, but for some reason I felt like I couldn't trust anyone, especially myself. I think I would probably tell Misao something I didn't want her to know, or her observant boyfriend might catch on to the fact that something was going on, if he hadn't already.

I found myself leaning out on the rail, staring blankly at the rushing ocean below. Relax. I needed to relax, calm down, and just forget about this whole thing. Just for a moment.

But then again, what would that do for me? Nothing, maybe put it off until later, but that's about it. Well, I couldn't do anything about it anyways. Kenshin was who-knows-where and I had no desire to go look for him. Besides, knowing him, he was probably hanging out of an open window or something.

"Lost something, little girl?" a voice, dripping ice, asked. I took a deep, shaky breath, holding my tongue as best I could. The smallest trace of a headache pounded angrily in my head, and all this stress wasn't helping. I couldn't stay around her for long; I would surely start something I really didn't need right now.

"No, and it's none of your business if I did," I muttered back. "What do _you_ want, Megumi?"

"Such a violent temper some people have!" she tutted. I bit back a growl and kept silent. So what if she was right? Not that she was, or anything... "It's a wonder anyone would see anything in you."

Damn, she was pissing me off. Why the hell was she wasting her time with me? What was she getting at? Why couldn't she go bother someone else? "What are you getting at?" I snapped, not taking my eyes off the foamy water below me. I could just imagine Megumi's body floating lifelessly on its surface...

"The fact that you lost your asshole of a boyfriend, and I'm the only person who knows how to get him back," she replied without hesitance, a confident tone to her voice.

"For the last time, he's not my boyfriend!" I screamed, my voice loud enough to turn the heads of people on the deck above us. My hands, already fisted from a while ago, were shaking, and I barely felt the sharp pain in my palms. "If anything was going on between us, which it isn't, it's none of your damn business anyway!"

Megumi was only surprised for a second. She wasn't the only one; that statement was out of nowhere. I guess I couldn't help it. Every single one of these people wouldn't leave me alone about Kenshin, and, damn it, it was pissing me off!

"For people who aren't going out, you two sure are friendly," she replied, unfazed. "Not to mention...protective." The last part of her statement had an elusive meaning.

"Pr...protective?" I stuttered, confused and still quite irked.

"Jealous," she explained, inspecting her nails with the air of someone talking to a little kid, "of anyone who gets in between you two."

I swallowed my retort and thought about her response. Jealous? I wasn't... "No, I'm not," I said indignantly.

"Oh, really?" Megumi pushed off the railing. "It's happened before."

"No, it..." I stopped, and thought for a minute. Oh...well, there was that one thing... That didn't... Did that count? I was at a loss for words. "Well..." I protested crossly. "That...wasn't... Y-You were jealous of me, too!" I finished pathetically.

"I didn't say I wasn't," she said, her tone becoming a little bit harsh. I think I hit a soft spot. "Though Ken-san may be cute, he's not my type."

Oh, right, your types are big idiots with rooster-shaped hairstyles... That's what I wanted to say, but seeing as she had a point, I let it go.

"I know about what happened last night."

I froze and swallowed involuntarily again. "What's... What's your point?" I suddenly asked, trying not to show my embarrassment. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Megumi sighed exasperatedly, "though it may be fun to watch you two deny your only-too-obvious feelings and act like total idiots, it gets old, not to mention annoying." I opened my mouth and she held out her hand and rolled her eyes, cutting my unsaid objection short. I shut my mouth irritably. I wasn't denying anything...

"You used to both like each other, but suddenly he's become resistant, and now you're wondering why. I've evaluated your seemingly hopeless situation, and, seeing as you weren't planning on doing anything about it, I've come up with the solution to your problem..."

"I was planning on..."

"Can I finish?" Again my mouth shut with a snap, and I started grinding my teeth together furiously. She continued. "Obviously he's not going to tell you his problem, because if he was going to he would've done so already, and even if he was, it's not going to happen soon enough. So, all you have to do is _work_ it out of him."

"Work...it...?" I said dumbly. She rolled her eyes again, thoroughly pissing me off.

"Does the word 'seduction' mean anything to you?" she asked. I finally realized what she wanted me to do, and I couldn't hide my blush this time. "Honestly, you're more of a tomboy than I thought!"

"No offense (yeah, right!), but isn't _that_ sort of thing up your alley?" I said skeptically. Megumi sighed.

"It's supposed to be up every woman's 'alley'." She made the hand signals for quotes around the word 'alley'. "Just don't make yourself seem desperate, and you should be fine. I thought you liked him."

"I...do..."

"Then what's the problem?"

"That's not me..." I said, giving my last sensible argument.

"Obviously," she replied, going back to her previous nail inspection, "thinking smart isn't you, either. Just trust me for once; I know it works."

"And how is that?"

Megumi spared me a sly glance, and suddenly I didn't want to know. "How do you think I know all of this?"

Too late. I tried to rid my mind of the current images sparked by her last statement. I guess that meant I wasn't telling Sano anything anymore. Stupid perverted rooster-head. Megumi suddenly checked her tiny silver watch.

"Well, I think I've wasted enough time on your petty problems. Now, if you don't mind, I have a life of my own. Do what you want." She turned to leave, then stopped for a minute. "But...if Ken-san _is_ what you want, then it shouldn't be a problem seducing him; if there's anything worth becoming concerned with between you two, it's bound to happen one day, anyway."

I watched her leave, stunned at what I heard. Sure, her idea seemed—I had to admit—appealing, but... Wasn't I supposed to hate Megumi and vise-versa? Was she just setting me up for some twisted joke? It seemed sincere, but why would she help me out?

"_What do you think? It's not my fault your ex had to be such a little..."_

"_Hey! Megitsune is not a bad person! She's different, once you get to know her!"_

I guess it couldn't hurt to give people a second chance. Why she decided to be nice to me (sort of...if you leave out her constant insults), I'll never know. But...was her idea really worth trying? Seduce Kenshin? I couldn't... Like I said, that isn't me and besides...I'd feel stupid, especially if he didn't find that sort of stuff attractive at all.

But if it worked...

Mou...I would have to think on this one. I needed somebody's opinion on this...besides Megumi's.

Well, there was always Misao...but she hadn't helped me at all before. Hmm... Oh, forget it. I decided to go ask her anyway.

AN- Well, there it is. Like I said, the other chapter's almost done, not to mention the end of this ficcy, and the answer to some people's (wink) questions. I'm gonna miss it...but, hey, then I can get to my other ones, not to mention my 'in the hangar' ideas (the ones that haven't blown up yet, that is...).

Thanks again to those who reviewed, read, and supported. Constructive criticism still welcomed, not to mention needed. Thanks again!


	11. Chapter 11

1AN-Romance. Very, _very_ OOC, even for this story. Don't laugh at me. Thanks for all reviews and support.

Disclaimer-I don't own anything RK here. Only the plot.

Misao wasn't eating anymore. Instead, she was sitting with Aoshi at the same table as before and talking. They looked like they were having a serious conversation. As for Soujirou...I had no idea where he was.

I didn't want to interrupt them, but I had to talk to Misao. I was going to just sit and wait for them to finish, but before I could even sit down, Misao spotted me and waved for me to come over. She looked disturbed.

"Hey!" she said. "Did Megumi find you? I told her that you were over there, but she saw you, and I tried to get her to go over there, but it didn't..."

"It's okay, Misao, don't worry," I interrupted quickly. "Listen, I need to talk to you..." I glanced quickly at Aoshi, hoping she would get the point.

"About what?" she asked, oblivious. I sighed. Aoshi suddenly got up. Misao looked confusedly at him. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," he muttered automatically, looking back at me. I mouthed a quick "thank you" as he turned back around. At least Aoshi wasn't clueless... No offense to Misao, or anything! I quickly stole his seat, figuring he would give me about five minutes.

"What's the matter?" Misao inquired, genuinely confused. I sucked my teeth for about five seconds before exhaling shakily.

"Okay, I have to get your opinion on something..." I began, a little embarrassed. "I...um...me and...Kenshin...kind of..." I stopped and tried to gather my words. "We...okay, we had a small fight—argument—and...no...never mind, forget that... Okay, yes! Yes, we had a fight!" I couldn't make up a decent story off the top of my head. Misao cocked an eyebrow, her previous dense mode fading away as if it was just a mask she wore. It was replaced with a concerned stare.

I tried to ignore it and continued, "We fought because...he won't tell me the one thing I want to know..." There. Who cares if it sounded stupid? It was more or less the truth. "And now he's avoiding me. I have an idea, but... I think it's kinda weird."

"What's your idea?" Misao asked.

"Um... To...seduce...him...?" I said in small voice, a little anxious. She stared at me, a blank look on her face. I felt dumb. Of course, Misao probably thought that I was acting like a slut.

"That's..."

Here it comes.

"...the..."

I felt so stupid.

"...best idea ever!" she finished, grinning mischievously. Whoa. That was weird. I can't believe she didn't think it was stupid. Maybe I was just modest, or scared of the bad consequences... "But wait..." she suddenly protested. "I thought you didn't like him..."

I didn't say anything. Okay, so maybe I should've told her that part first. I muttered something illegible; something along the lines of 'Just a little bit...it's not like we kissed or anything...'

She smiled, her green eyes suddenly becoming devilish. Standing up, Misao suddenly grabbed my hand. "I have the perfect idea."

And suddenly I was scared of her.

(:D)(No! They stole the equals sign! Oh, the agony!)

"There..."

"Come on, Kaoru!"

"...is..."

"Please?"

"...no way..."

"Just this once!"

"...in hell..."

"This is perfect, just try it out!"

"...I'm wearing this!" I finished, folding my arms over my chest in order to cover the cleavage that was far too provocative for me. It just made it worse, and I turned away from the mirror embarrassingly. Misao pouted.

"I thought you said you wanted to..."

"I did... But this..." I looked at myself in the mirror again. "This is ridiculous..."

"Come on," she said, grabbing my hand. "Let's go do your hair!"

"No..." I groaned, not bothering putting up a fight against the overly excited Misao. She dragged me over to one of the twin beds and motioned for me to sit down. I obediently sat and watched her as she gathered up about a million different hair products from one of her bags. I eyed them warily. She turned to me, smiling, several random cans of hair spray and mousse falling from her arms and rolling to my feet. My eyes followed it.

I swallowed involuntarily.

(:D)

Five hours and two hair spray cans later...

Misao hadn't spent all of those five hours just on my hair. In that time span, she also put me in a straightjacket and ripped the skin off my face. She also tried to make a cake out of what was left of my face, but I managed to wash most of it off and convince her it looked better that way (Translation: She put me in a tight outfit and waxed my eyebrows. She tried to put a ton of make up on my face, but I washed most of it off, etc.).

"There!" she finally declared, leading me to her bathroom mirror. I sighed, nearly choking, seeing as I had a tight choker of a bikini top strap wrapped around my neck, taking the mirror from Misao hand. I risked a glance and gasped at the result.

Sure, it was cute...if you liked desperate looking hookers in mini skirts. Misao had somehow forced me into her tiny petite clothes, saying my wardrobe wasn't "exotic" enough. So that's how I found myself standing in a too-tight, small tan miniskirt in front of the mirror, along with the only decent piece of clothing on me; a white button-up shirt, its long sleeves rolled up to three quarters length. It might have been more decent, though, if the shirt wasn't unbuttoned down to the middle, revealing something I should be, but somehow wasn't, proud of, not to mention the tight ass black bikini under the already suffocating outfit. Somehow, even after all Misao's hard work, I knew I was just going to embarrass myself.

"How do you like it?" Misao whispered excitedly from behind me. I tried to make my eyebrows go normal, because they were currently giving that "You're kidding, right?" look.

"Words fail me," I squeaked, my voice hoarse. The clothes, I had to admit, were in fact _physically_ comfortable, but saying they were _mentally_ uncomfortable was a huge understatement. I don't think I'm cut out for this type of stuff... I was too reticent.

"I know..." Misao misinterpreted my comment, a dreamy look on her face. Her face suddenly turned roguish and she grinned. "There is no way he can possibly resist you now...Mwahaha! I am a genius!" Cackling evilly, she turned away, checking the clock on her night stand.

"I told Aoshi and Sou-chan to come back around six or seven, so that leaves just enough time for me to get ready!" she concluded, hurrying into her bathroom. I sighed and sat back down on her bed.

Yes, Misao had actually kicked Aoshi and Soujirou out. She said I was an experiment, and the outcome was a surprise. Great. I felt like a guinea pig.

I curled up on Misao's bed and shut my eyes, thinking of how the hell I was going to pull this stunt off. I sighed yet again. This whole 'Kenshin' thing was a lot more stress than it was worth.

...Well, actually... I licked my overly glossed lips (thank you, Misao...), thinking of the things that attracted me to him the most.

Mou! Stop it!

(:D)

"Kaoru?"

My eyes sleepily opened halfway and I looked around groggily. "Wha?" I said stupidly.

Misao was looking at me. Her outfit was casual, a T-shirt and shorts. Aoshi and Soujirou were next to her. My eyes opened fully and I sat up quickly. My hands went up to rub my eyes and Misao squealed worriedly, going forward and smacking my hands away from my own face.

"No, your eyes are pretty and it took me forever to do them!" she yelped. I blinked repeatedly, trying to resist the urge to rub my face. She started straightening out the small wrinkles in my tiny outfit. I think I dosed off. Suddenly I felt the stares of the two other people in the room.

"That's a new look," Aoshi said, an eyebrow quirked in interest, skeptical, if not amused. I looked down at my outfit, then back at him. His eyes were glinting with surprise.

"Uh...yeah... Is it _that_ bad?" I asked. He didn't answer, his eyes still scrutinizing me.

"Iie..." he finally said, slowly. I smiled my thanks and looked to see Soujirou's reaction.

He was blushing a little, giving off a vague impression of me when I first saw myself. "That's... You...look...nice..." he stammered nervously.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Sou..." Misao said absentmindedly. She finally stepped back and looked at me, cocking her head to one side. "There. All better. Now come on. We don't want to make Kaoru late."

"Late?" I echoed dumbly. "For what?"

"For your date, of course."

"What?! I don't have a date!"

"Well, no," Misao agreed evasively. "It's more of a 'coincidental' meeting of two people at a designated spot..."

I stood up, crossing my arms in front of my exceedingly exposed chest, forgetting about my outfit for a minute. "In other words, you knew where Kenshin was this whole time and didn't tell me?" I said, making sure the word 'skeptical' was written all over my face. She gave me one of her big dumb smiles.

"Well, it's not _exactly_ like that..."

"Riiiight."

"Anyway, moving along!" Misao cleared her throat. "Here is the plan..."

"Plan?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, duh!" she said in response. "You didn't think you were going to 'be yourself', did you?"

"No, of course not." I rolled my eyes.

"Good," she continued, missing my sarcasm. "I'm gonna make sure this happens when there's no one around...say, around two o' clock in the morning?"

"Two in the morning!?"

"Yeah, don't worry, no one's out there at midnight, either, so there's no way anybody who's anybody is going to be out there!"

"I guess that makes me a nobody..."

"And until then..." Misao continued, ignoring my comment. "We (she gestured to Soujirou and Aoshi) are going to make sure you eat and stuff, so you won't be hungry _and _make sure you get a little drunk, so..."

"Drunk?" I didn't try to hold my surprise in.

"Not _really _drunk, just a tiny bit tipsy, ya know, so you won't be all modest and stuff."

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," I objected. "What if he...well..."

Misao smiled and jerked her thumb toward the stoic man behind her. "Then Aoshi is going to kick his ass for you!"

Aoshi's eyebrows rose all the way into his hairline.

"But, Kenshin is a nice guy so I don't think that will happen," Misao said. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah, I've got one," I said crossly, raising my hand. "What if I refuse to do all of that?"

She laughed for a long time. I bit back a retort and frowned. "Okay," she said, wiping her watering eyes. "Any _realistic_ questions, anybody?"

(:D)

"Then, you unbutton your shirt and take off your skirt..."

"Misao!" I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "You're acting like this is some sort of 'covert operation', which, must I remind you, it isn't! You can't plan everything out!" I stopped, then blushed. "And why would I take off my clothes?"

"Because I don't want you getting that outfit wet when I haven't got a chance to wear it yet. Here, drink this," she said, handing me yet another a shot glass with who knows what kind of alcohol in it. I tried to push it away, but she wouldn't let me, so I forced it down, trying not to gag on the burning feeling it left in my throat. I pushed the empty glass away, feeling sick.

"I don't think I want to go through with this..." I moaned, laying my head on top of my crossed arms. Misao patted my back.

"Come on, don't tell me you're going to give on me now!"

"I'm not, but...I'm really stressed out and this isn't helping..."

"It will when you're done, don't worry," she smiled. "Now, the part where you take off your clothes..."

"I can't do that..."

"You can too! Then you can show off your...well, actually, _my_ cute bathing suit! It's going to be so awesome!"

That gave me an idea. I stood up, fighting off the small dizzy spell that came over me as I did, and started walking away from the bar.

"Where are you going?!" Misao's voice called. "It's only twelve-thirty! We still have to discuss the rest of your date!"

"Bathroom," I called back lightly, walking a little faster toward the exit. She seemed to buy it and shrugged, turning around in her stool and chatting animatedly to Soujirou, who was laughing loudly.

I snuck outside. Misao was right. Not a soul around. I walked upstairs to the eleventh floor, where there were four empty, bubbling Jacuzzis (An-Yes, there are four Jacuzzis on the eleventh floor...or is it the tenth...?). Though it wasn't my original plan, I suddenly found myself walking toward it, almost mesmerized.

I did a double take, making sure that no one was around before slipping (psh, more like squeezing) out of the tight clothes. I pulled my hair back and tied it with the usual ribbon around my wrist. Finally, after checking yet again for any hidden spectators, I carefully slid into the hot water, sighing with pleasure as I did. I should have thought of this a long time ago. It was so relaxing... I could have fallen asleep. I forgot about everything; the stress of the new job, meeting new people, my destroyed past, and especially...

Someone was coming. I could hear footsteps closing in. Damn it. If luck _was_ in my favor, it wouldn't be who I thought it was...

Being that luck never was in my favor, I already knew who it was. And I hadn't forgotten last night, either. Well, time for some payback.

He rounded the corner and I quickly put my back to that corner. "Kaoru?" Kenshin's voice called. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

I ignored him, closing my eyes and trying to forget about him. That proved hard, seeing as he continued to talk to me.

"Kaoru?" He came closer and I gritted my teeth. I slowly looked over my shoulder, giving him the hardest glare I could. It seemed to work, for he took a step back.

"May I help you?" My voice was a little 'icier' than I intended, but that only made it better. Kenshin didn't say anything; he was astonished. I turned back around.

"Um, are you okay?" he asked, coming closer. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I was five minutes ago," I snapped, not moving from my spot. I forgot my original plan to 'seduce' him.

"Fuck..." He knelt behind me beside the tub, his face hovering beside my shoulder. "Did I piss you off?"

"Brilliant, Holmes," I crossly responded, feeling strangely calmer with his rhythmic breathing softly hitting the side of my face.

"What? How?"

"If you don't know, I won't tell you."

"Damn, who shoved a rod up your ass?" he suddenly muttered. That really pissed me off and I just barely held myself back from punching his lights out, a sharp familiar pain stabbing through my palms. However, that didn't stop my mouth.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe..._you!_" I spat back, whirling around and bracing my hands against the hot tub's wooden frame, my face inches away from his.

"Me? What'd I...do...to...?" His voice trailed off and his head slowly tilted down, his eyes on my chest. I gave him about five seconds to stop staring, but he seemed to be paralyzed, so, fighting back embarrassment, I slid my hand under his chin and jerked it upward.

"Yes, Kenshin, my face is this way," I said flatly. He gaped at my face for a second, before suddenly pulling his face from my grip and shaking his head quickly.

"Ah, so it is... Sorry about that." He grinned stupidly. "Where was I?"

I turned around again. "Don't think I'm not still mad at you, you pervert."

"What? What did I do?!"

"Don't play stupid," I growled. He heaved a heavy sigh. I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and added, "Last night?"

"Oh, that? That..." Kenshin suddenly seemed serious. "That...was an accident."

"Yes," I said, feeling depressed. "Yes, it was."

"I'm sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was..."

"...An accident. I heard you the first time," I said impatiently, looking at him over my shoulder. "Any other excuses?"

"It's not an excuse!" he suddenly snapped back. He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "Sorry, but... "

"No, Kenshin, it isn't," I replied angrily. I turned back around. "It's stupid. If I can tell you all the shit about me that I did, then why can't you do the same?"

"Because I can't!" He covered his face with his hands, elbows propped on the tub's frame. "...I'm sorry, but...I can't tell you..." Kenshin uncovered his face and looked at me, his face a little on the aggravated side. "I've fucked up a lot of people's lives...and the last thing I want..." He sighed. "...is to fuck up yours. You're bleeding, by the way."

I blinked at his quick change of subject and sat dumbfounded for a while. Kenshin muttered, "Here" and stuck his hand in the water, grabbing my hand and flipping the palm upwards. "Right there." He pointed to my hand and I felt a sting.

However, I wasn't looking at that. I was looking at his face, but I wasn't really concentrating on anything. I was thinking about what he had said. Something wasn't right there. Now I think about it, I knew absolutely nothing about him. What could've possibly happened to him to make him say that?

"Kaoru?" Kenshin's yellow eyes suddenly glanced in my direction and I snapped out of my thoughts, but I couldn't stop staring. He was smiling, but his eyes were clouded and disturbed. "What? What are you looking at?"

"I...I'm looking at you," I said slowly, avoiding his gaze and feeling ashamed. "Kenshin... I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have tried to force you to..."

"It's okay," he said dismissively.

"No, it's not, I forgot how it hard it can be to..."

"Forget it. You're fine."

"No, I'm not fine, that wasn't..."

"Kaoru." Kenshin's hands closed around my face and he gently pulled me to face him. "It's okay."

I forgot how to breathe for a second, abruptly remembering when he suddenly let go of me and held my hands up instead.

"You should get this cleaned up." I looked down and finally realized I had dug my nails so deep into the skin of my palms that I cut myself, each of the four cuts bleeding slightly.

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered, a little embarrassed for getting so worked up over something so stupid. I couldn't help but remember what Megumi told me earlier today, about my temper. Damn it, she was right. I think I need to take anger management classes.

Kenshin suddenly stood up and held out his hand, then hesitated. "Do you need a towel?"

I stood up, too, testing the temperature outside. It wasn't cold, and, being that I didn't really feel comfortable "making" him go get a towel for me, I shook my head and stepped out of the water. He stared at me for a while before turning around and walking over to the ship's wall. He braced his hands against it, his head down and his back to me. I heard him mutter something, but I couldn't distinguish just what is was that he said, though I'm sure the word 'fuck' was in there somewhere.

"Are you okay?" I asked, wondering what the hell he was doing. Kenshin turned back around.

"I'm fine," he said awkwardly. "Are you sure you don't want a towel or something? You might get a cold or something, and I..."

I looked at him, my eyebrows raised. He noticed me staring and sighed. "I didn't mean anything _bad_ by that," he said quickly. "I was just asking."

"It's okay," I said, picking up the bundle of clothes I had left on the bench nearby. We started walking toward the deck. I noticed his constant staring and I finally managed to catch him in the act by letting _him_ catch _me_ staring at _him_. Confusing, I know.

"What?" he said. "What are you looking at?"

"What are _you _looking at?" I asked in response. He grinned sheepishly.

"You," he said. I couldn't decide if that was a compliment or not, so I left it alone.

We made it out to the railing, but Kenshin kept staring at me, so I finally sighed and said, "Do you want me to get dressed?"

He mumbled something, then nodded, still staring. He turned around and went to the wall again.

I grinned, starting to get dressed. It wouldn't do anything, I know, being that the outfit barely covered anything anyway. Maybe, if I played my cards right, this night wouldn't be a waste of time after all.

"Okay," I said, buttoning up the shirt as far as I could. That wasn't very far, seeing as the top three buttons weren't real; they were just for show. He turned around and kind of froze for a second, before running his hand through his hair.

"Kaoru, I really don't...t-think...you..."

"I know, I know, it's kinda risque..." I said lightly. It was the only thing I could think to say. The look on his face was priceless and I tried not to laugh. "...I was messing around with my wardrobe today and it was hot outside...and I didn't think I'd run into you."

He shook his head vigorously, not as if he was disagreeing, but as if something was stuck in his head. I just kinda smiled. I wasn't _trying_ to seduce him or anything, the outfit was just kinda doing it on its own. And it was hilarious. He turned away and looked out over the railing, muttering something again. I quickly felt a little bad, but before I could say anything, he walked past me.

"Where are you going?" I asked, hurrying after him. Kenshin didn't stop walking, but he kinda slowed.

"Inside," he said, a little cross. "Before something happens."

"Oh? Something's going to happen?"

"No, nothing's going to happen," he said determinedly. He seemed depressed. I had the strangest desire...and with the small amount of alcohol I consumed pounding in my head, I slapped my hands on his shoulders and started giving him a massage. He stopped abruptly and I almost bumped into him, but I didn't stop kneading my fingers into his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" he asked, almost demanded. I smiled.

"What does it feel like I'm doing? I'm giving you a massage."

Kenshin turned around, his hands closing around mine. "Stop messing around with me!" he snapped. My happiness ebbed away only a little, but the way I retaliated made it look like I was infuriated.

"Messing around with _you_?! Excuse me, but wasn't it _you_ who kissed me and then told me to fuck off? You left me hanging and you still are, right now! If anyone's messing around with anyone, it's _you_!" I yanked my hands away and turned around, my arms crossed defiantly. Jerk. I thought about what I had just said and smirked. Yeah, that sounded about right.

"Me?!" he yelled at my back. "I'm not the one walking around in bikini three sizes too small and a skirt about the length of my...fucking...middle finger!"

"You have long fingers," I said without thinking about it, and after I did think about it, it took all of my willpower not to bust out laughing. Then I thought some more about it and realized it sounded kinda raunchy.

"See? You're messing with me right now!"

I sighed, deciding to end it. Maybe _this_ would teach him something... "Yes, I am, Kenshin." I turned around and walked up to him, closing the short distance between us. "Is it working?"

"No," he said, his eyes darting up and down my body. I think I was a little tipsy, because for some reason I found this stupidly hilarious. "No, it...is...isn't..."

"Maybe I should try harder, yeah?" I said softly, playing idly with his shirt. My conscience was locked up behind bars in my head, screaming bloody murder. But I had to do something about all of this. I had to find out what the hell was going on inside that head of his. My fingers continued to play with the first button of his shirt. Whoops. It unbuttoned all by itself...

Kenshin babbled something I couldn't understand before finally putting his hands on my waist and pushing me away. "Kaoru..."

I held my ground, grinning, and put my arms around his neck, pushing my full length against him. "Okay," I whispered. "I'll leave you alone. Just say the word and I'm gone."

His fingers tapped nervously on each side of my waist, and I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. He was speechless, his breathing slightly abnormal and his pale eyes wide with surprise and...something else. Regret? Hopelessness? Or maybe...desire? Either way, I found it adorable. I leaned forward and, surprisingly, he did the same.

There was a pause. A really _long_ pause. We broke apart when I had to breathe. I took a step back, grinning, his hair tie dangling discreetly from my fingers. For some reason, I felt a bubble of laughter rise up in my chest and I had to bite my lip to stop it from breaking loose and ruining the moment.

Maybe it was Kenshin's comical look that made me want to laugh. His face had surprise written all over it and his mouth was hanging slightly open. He looked unsteady on his feet and he had one hand braced against the wall. I continued smiling at his blank stare.

"Well," I happily stated, walking around him, "seeing as you probably want your 'alone time' now, I'll be in the room. Goodnight, then." Three...two...one...

His hand closed around my wrist and I tried not to laugh again. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Well..." I started again. He pulled around to face him, his hands on my upper arms.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me why the fuck you're doing this..." he answered for me, a steely tone in his voice. I know I probably pissed him off, but for some reason that was kinda funny to me, too. I felt a little better knowing that I had a calm head about this whole thing. For once, I wasn't the overly emotional one in the situation.

"Doing what?" I said, my smile still in place, though my voice became a little more serious. "The same thing you did to me?" He looked away and my smile faded for a second. "Yeah, it kinda sucks when people don't tell you everything, doesn't it? Doesn't it just piss ...you..._off?_" I smiled again, shoving his hands away. "But I guess we all just have to shut the hell up and deal with it, won't we?"

"That was different," he said. I assumed he was still mad, seeing as his voice was still a little rough. Well, I was still mad about yesterday.

"I guess it was," I agreed. I started walking away and once again, he grabbed me, but this time, he didn't pull me around to face him. "Something else?" I questioned.

"Kaoru... You should stop, because there is no way in hell I'm going to tell y..."

I turned around before he could finish and gave him a light kiss on the lips that was _supposed_ to last about one millisecond, testing him. He cupped my face with his hands, deepening it. My mind blanked out...

Damn. I really had to stop doing that before I forgot what I was doing. I smiled after it was finished, hiding my pleasure. "You were saying?" I said softly, trying not to grin too big. His half-open eyes suddenly widened, comprehension dawning on him.

"Y-you...tr-tricked...me... Fuck!" he yelled, frustrated. "Fine! Fine! I'll tell you, just stop _doing_ that!"

"Fair enough," I said, smirking. "But... You have to promise...you won't lie to me." Our faces were still a little close...

"Uhm... I...can't... Ah... " Kenshin's eyes looked me up and down.

"Kenshin..." My hands went to his chest again.

"Okay, I promise!" he quickly said, pushing me away, his eyes closed. He sighed and walked to the railing, leaning heavily on it. "That was..." He ran his hand through his already tousled hair, suddenly realizing his hair was undone and going everywhere. He slowly looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. I gave him a big dumb grin and sheepishly offered him his hair tie.

"Sorry. Your hair was just... I got carried away."

"No shit," he snapped, snatching it from my hand and pulling his hair back. I joined him against the railing. "That was fucked up,"he continued grouchily, buttoning up his shirt. "That wasn't fair..."

"All's fair in love and war," I replied, toying with my own shirt, bored and impatient. "So are you gonna tell me?"

"Well, it all started when..." Kenshin looked at me, then averted his gaze. "I thought you said you were going to stop."

"What?" I looked down and realized I had unbuttoned the first real button on my shirt. I quickly buttoned it up. "Sorry about that."

He rolled his eyes, peeved. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway... It all started when..."

AN- Ooh. That was rather unexpected, wasn't it? Ah, well, I decided to loosen up some of that tension between everybody. So it was good, right? Sorry, I had to move things along somehow...but enough about that! I think this story has about two more chapters left...but I'm not sure, so yeah. Thanks for those who stayed with me and who still are. Reviews appreciated and constructive critique (heh) definitely wanted.


	12. Chapter 12This story's getting too long

AN-Having serious ending problems with this dumb retarded story. Tell me where to go! I can't find a way back to my original ending! Ah, fuck it (sorry for el language...heh). On with the story.

Disclaimer-Dammit, I don't own RK, okay!? How many times must I tell you!?

Warnings-Angst, again...dammit! Don't laugh. Ooc, Au, uh...cliche-ness...? You'll get what I mean...

My childhood was messed up. I can't really remember that far back; the only reason I know half as much about myself as I do is because my teacher told me. I think I can't remember because my mom killed too many of my brain cells beating the shit out of me.

Like I said before, I grew in a mental institution for "studies." I didn't really care, and even if I did, I didn't have much of a choice, seeing as I was just a baby. My parents? My parents were dead. I don't know what the hell happened to either of them, but I knew that my mom was a crackwhore who beat me 'cause I was an accident. I wasn't supposed to happen. My dad was just another one-night stand she had, and nine months later I was born.

My mom didn't know what the hell to do with me. I'd just get in the way in her line of work, and, besides, she didn't have enough money for me _and_ her drugs. What the hell _can_ you do with a kid? A lot less than what you can do with crack, obviously. So I ended up on the streets. How I ended up in the fucking nuthouse is _way_ beyond me. Maybe she _knew_ I was going to end up as a fuckin' idiot with mental problems and intentionally dumped me on their doorstep.

When I was younger, I didn't get along with other kids. I didn't talk, and if one of those fuckers dared come and touch me, whether it be a friendly gesture or not, I hit them. I learned at an early age not to trust anyone.

Being that I was in a mental hospital, they had me do a lot of tests. The tests were done with things like toys and ink blots. The psychologists recorded everything I did, which, from what I heard, wasn't much. I was told I barely responded to them, or anything else for that matter, at all, and for that reason they diagnosed me with infantile autism, which, in my opinion, was nothing but a fancy name for a retard.

Some psychologists argued over me and said I had a 'manic-depressive' disorder, which wasn't a very believable story seeing as I was too young to have something like that. I don't know. I was just a fucking item to them, a fascinating animal that people stare at in a fucking zoo.

So that's how things were for a while. They provided me with a place to stay, and I provided them with a little experiment to mess around with. It was around the age of 10 that I met my teacher. By that time, I had gotten electroconvulsive therapy done once because some dumb fuck doctor had walked in on me trying to commit suicide and sedated once for breaking one kid's jaw and nose. I can just barely remember that dumb ass calling me a psychopath...but I can vividly remember making him regret it by kicking his fuckin' ass. I probably would have tried to kill him if somebody hadn't held me back. They said my emotions were all fucked up because of a chemical imbalance in my brain, probably because of all the drugs in my system... Thanks, Mom.

My teacher, Hiko, who you said you've met once before, was a psychologist, too, but he was the only person who treated me like I was a human. He didn't think I belonged in there and I couldn't have agreed more. The day I beat up the dipshit that called me a psychopath, I asked Hiko if I was crazy. That was the first thing I ever vocally said to anyone in that place, besides the other kids, who I told (when I was older) to 'fuck off.' The "bad" language? I got it from him, I swear.

Anyway, he said no, I wasn't crazy. I told him the doctors said that and he told me that _those_ doctors were dumb asses who couldn't find their way out of a cardboard box. He said they were just looking for a way to make a quick profit from kids who were different. Kids who didn't act like the 'normal' kids. Kids like me.

I guess I was about 12 when Hiko "adopted" me. I have no fucking idea how the hell he just snatched me right out of the hospital, but when I asked him, he just said, "Don't worry about it.... Unless... Do you want to go back?"

I don't think I need to tell you what my answer was.

So then I had to attend a 'normal' school with 'normal' kids. I didn't do so well on my first day. When the teacher asked me where I moved from, I told her what Hiko called the hospital. I said I came from the 'fucking loony bin' and I got detention. That's when I started learning the hard way that you either shut up or get beaten up.

It was a hard transition. It was the type of place where a girl of any age couldn't walk alone at night without turning up as a raped corpse on the side of the road the next day. The kids there were different, too. Of course, they weren't (literal) retards or anything, but they treated some kids like shit for no reason. I guess I can't really talk. Sometimes I just had crazy compulsions and urges to pound the crap out of people I didn't even know. And, sometimes, I'd accidentally try to.

I beat up a lot of people and tried to pick fights with everyone for some reason. I don't know, I just couldn't control what the hell I was thinking or doing. I guess it goes without saying that I also got my ass kicked up and down the block a lot during school.

Whenever I got in trouble, Hiko would get really mad. I guess I couldn't really blame him. He must've had to kiss a lot of ass just to get me out of the stupid asylum and I should have been more appreciative. I was, and I tried to explain my weird impulses to him. But for every "excuse" I had, he had me train twice as hard.

Training? Yeah, Hiko was a real "traditional" person. He told me since he had no real son, he'd have to pass on his sword fighting style to me. Sword fighting?! What the fuck? I had no idea that there were still people who did that sort of thing. I hated every minute of it. He made me start to train as soon as I started normal school. He pushed me really hard, trying to pack every single bit of muscle into my small frame. There wasn't one fucking night where I didn't go to sleep with a fresh cut carved into me and wake up the next morning as sore as hell. Yeah. That's where most of the scars came from.

So basically life at home sucked, too. My "condition" wasn't getting any better, either. I got into more and more fights as soon as I started going to highschool and at home, I found myself really depressed for things that were unreasonable and stupid. I felt worthless and that I didn't deserve to live. But sometimes, more often at school than not, I felt like the person sitting next to me didn't deserve to live. I had crazier mood swings than a pregnant bitch.

...No offense, or anything.

You said you made three _main_ mistakes. Well, I guess I made three, too.

The first one was ever going out with Yukishiro Tomoe in the first place.

I met Tomoe my freshman year of highschool, but I didn't start to get to know her until my sophomore year. She was quiet, pretty, and reserved. Something you didn't find in the dump where I lived. Something you didn't find anywhere, today.

I don't think Tomoe ever knew she was had me on a leash. All she had to do was say "Sit, boy!" and I'd be on the ground in a flat second. I started to like her the second I started actually talking to her. However, I tried my best not to show her what I really was...a fucking nutcase who flipped out and kicked people's asses for no particular reason. I tried to act normal around her. It wasn't that hard, actually. She calmed me down whenever I felt like sinking my fist into some kid's stomach and she made me feel better when I felt like sinking a knife into _my_ stomach. And for a second, I thought someone cared about me.

I finally got the balls to ask her out that summer, and, believe it or not, she said 'yes.' So we started going out. And it actually worked for the first two months.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, it...ended. The feeling of tranquility I usually felt when I was around Tomoe just didn't seem to come to me anymore. She was like my drug, something I took to calm me down, and I guess somewhere along the line I started to overdose and become immune. I started losing control of myself again, and it was becoming harder and harder to hide myself. Especially when we got into trivial little fights.

I blew things up _way_ out of proportion and I got pissed off really easily. It took everything I had and then some not to become physical on her when I got mad, which was the way I usually dealt with my anger.

Despite this, we never could really break up without running back to each other the next week. Well, more like without me running back to _her_, begging for her to forgive me. And she did, every time. And one night, about one year later, we had a huge argument and the next thing I knew my fucked up brain and all of its fucked up hormones went crazy in a different way than usual...and I lost my virginity to her.

But, then again, that's another entirely different story in itself.

Our relationship became different after that. It wasn't like we were going out _just_ to fuck each other, but...I don't know. I didn't feel the same way about her I did one year ago. Maybe that's when I should have broken it off, but... She was the only one who could stand me and I was the only one who actually knew her.

Or so I thought.

Things at school were changing, too. Now in my junior year, I had made about one thousand enemies out of all the guys there. They jumped me after school one time, managing to cut me up pretty bad with a knife. When Hiko saw me that day, he said that I needed to start defending myself more. He gave me a gun I didn't even know he had, saying 'self-defense was not murder', making me promise not to misuse it or tell anyone I had it. And that's when I made my second mistake by actually excepting the damn thing.

I kept my promise as best I could, concealing the weapon from the kids I hated most at school though I wanted so badly to empty the gun into their fucking heads. I didn't bring it there because I know it would end up in the wrong hands...mine. I kept it under my pillow, like a little girl would keep her diary hidden.

Even when Tomoe came over to my house (on the rare occasion we didn't hang out at her huge, two-story, "rich people" house), I made sure we didn't fool around or anything anywhere near my bed, which was kind of stupid, seeing as she was sure to suspect something if we were making out and I just stopped and yelled, "Wait! Off the bed!".

However, I managed to play it off, using excuses and answering her questions with answers that actually danced around the real reason. I kept up with the charade for as long as possible.

And then it was summer once again. We had been together for two years, if you excluded the many times we attempted to break up with each other. Well, it was our two year anniversary and I actually decided to do something special. So I bought a dozen white roses. Unoriginal, I know, but it was all I could come up with on such short notice and such short funds (Hey, Hiko might've been a "doctor", but he said you would never find him living in one of those overly-priced, rich, snob neighborhoods. So we lived like the poor people we_ probably_ deserved to be, and I got the crappy job that I _know _I deserved to have.). _White_ roses? Yeah, they were a lot cheaper than the stupid red ones. I have no idea why, they just were.

Anyway, I was planning to make today go as smooth as possible. I wanted what we used to have. Our relationship was like a fragile glass sculpture that had been dropped one too many times. And each time, we'd try our best to patch it up with glue and tape. Now imagine what it looks like. That's right. A piece of crap that didn't look anything like the original. Something that no one wants. Something that _I_ definitely didn't want.

So, with this in mind, I unwittingly made my third mistake by deciding to tell Tomoe the truth about everything. All the secrets I had been hiding, my past, my 'conditions' and 'mental disabilities', and about the weapon I had kept hidden from her this whole time. I took it with me, fully intending to simply talk about it...not _use_ it...

Well, like I said before, doing something like that was totally out of character for me. So it would be a huge surprise for Tomoe, seeing as I didn't call her beforehand. I remember walking through her neighborhood, feeling so happy and energetic for no reason at all, I remember seeing a strange car I didn't recognize, I remember pausing as I saw her walking leisurely out of her house with someone else, taking no notice of me standing only a few meters away...and I remember the rage that consumed me when I saw them embrace, kissing in a way that only two lovers kiss.

After that, it becomes hazy. Bits and pieces of what happened come slowly back to me...the way I stared hopelessly...the way I felt stupid for not foreseeing this...the way I forgot about all of that and started fumbling for something...the way the steel felt in my hand for the first time...and the...the way it felt...when...

I shot her. I fucking shot her. I had never fired a gun in my life, and by some sort of twisted fate I hit both of them, the bullet penetrating through her back and straight into his chest. I don't even know who the hell he was. But, at that moment, all I could think was that someone was going to pay...and it didn't occur to me that I would be that someone.

I shot her. And...I killed her. He was just in the way, but, what do you fucking know, he died, too. And who paid for it? I did.

Hiko was fucking pissed. I don't blame him. Being that I wasn't even supposed to be out of the damn hospital, the people there took immediate action and fired his ass the first chance they got. But I think the worst part was that he had raised me, tried his best to look out for me, and gave me his trust with that fucking gun. And what did I do for him? I stabbed him with a knife by not trusting him back and telling him what was going on with me in the first place and then I twisted the knife by losing control and killing someone, something he had been training me _not_ to do for the last five years.

And me? I had to go to court. Hiko had to pay for a lawyer for me, which was more money he had to waste, money that he didn't have, thanks to me. I somehow got out of a harsh punishment by pleading insanity. It was a believable story, seeing as it was true, but then I had to go back to the hellhole that was my home for the first twelve years of my life. I saw all the kids I hated throughout my younger childhood, only to find most of them either gone or fully insane. Ha. Dumb fuckers deserved it. Just like I deserved what I got.

As it turns out, I did actually have manic-depressive disorder. Some crazy thing where I could be happy and full-throttle one minute...and depressed and suicidal the next. The way I had freaked out and beat people up when I was mad, the way I had fought over petty things with Tomoe, and the way I took her life out of a simple case of jealousy were all the end result of my mania condition. It made me lose my temper and rational mind a lot faster than the average person.

How long did I stay in there? I have no idea. I didn't have anything personal in my little white corner of the world, much less a clock or calendar to tell time with. They didn't trust me with _anything_ now that my 'condition' was 'official'. They didn't want me to "hurt myself". I'm certain it was over a year, though. And I think, over that time span, I learned how to control my overstimulated emotions, with the help of medicine and therapy.

And somehow, despite all the crap I put him through, Hiko managed to pull me out of there again. He even had a new job opportunity for me, the one I still have now. One more accident like last time, though, and that would be it for the both of us...

(-.-)

Kenshin turned away from the railing and walked over to the wall, where he leaned against it, his back to me. He refused to look at me the whole time while he told his story, a blank look on his face.

I had never felt so guilty in my whole life. Wow. That made my past look like a walk in the park, didn't it? I knew how bad it felt when you had to tell someone something personal. I had become one of the counselors I hated so much throughout my lifetime. I made him tell me. And it was none of my damn business. What the hell was I thinking?

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling stupid. He ignored me and continued. I think he forgot I was there.

"I was such a fucking idiot," he said, more to himself than to me. "I actually believed someone could love a insane freak like me. I should have seen it coming, I should have known. But I didn't. I'm so stupid...so fucking stupid..."

"Shut up," I said without meaning to. Oops. Oh, well, no point in stopping if I already started... "You're not stupid. You made a mistake, just like everyone else. People make mistakes. You're just being too hard on yourse--"

"People make _mistakes_, they don't freak out and fucking shoot people. I killed someone just because I saw something I didn't want to see. I let my emotions get the better of me and the person that mattered to me most died because of it...because of me. Everything that happened to me was all my fault. It's always my fucking fault..." He turned around and looked at me, his amber eyes void of any distinguishable feeling. I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. "Now, Kaoru, tell me with a straight face that I'm being too hard on myself."

"Yes," I said, trying not to blink as I met his stare with a determined stare of my own. "Yes, you are being too hard on yourself. Shit happens, Kenshin, it always will, and beating yourself up over something that happened a long time ago won't help anyone, including you."

"Sorry, then, for not being able to forget about the fact I killed someone..."

"I didn't say forget, I said stop living in the past," I corrected him, trying to stop myself from arguing back. Though I may have sounded confident, I knew I was walking on eggshells right then. If I went too far, it might only make it worse... "Don't kill yourself over something you can't change. Tomoe might have..." I stopped, wishing I hadn't said that. Shit. I took a deep breath and continued uncertainly. "Tomoe might have hurt you once...but there are still people here that care about you now...and...and you just can't keep pushing them away."

"Oh, really?" he said, pushing off of the wall. "Like who?"

"Like me," I replied without really thinking about it. Damn it, I needed to stop _doing_ that! "I care about you. And I..."

"Kaoru I can't do this!" Kenshin suddenly whirled around and grabbed my upper arms, interrupting me abruptly as if afraid to hear the last part of my sentence. I couldn't blame him, I was kinda scared myself. "Don't you get it? I _killed_ her! I took a fucking gun and _shot_ her when her back was _turned_! It's just going to happen again and again and if I let myself, it'll happen to _you_!"

"I don't care," I responded shortly, my eyes meeting his without faltering and my temper barely below its boiling point. I don't know why I was getting mad, but I knew if I didn't be careful, things could get out of hand... I put my hands on his face, trying to calm down and focus. "I really don't. But I care about you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be standing here, still listening and still trying to convince you that it's okay with me!"

"Kaoru..." Kenshin muttered, frustrated. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"Well you're hurting me right now!" I countered quickly. I ran my hands down his face, trying to ignore the stinging in my eyes. "I don't want you to worry about me. You may think you know me, but I..." I stopped, my fingertips freezing over his face. Somebody was coming.

"Kaoru! Kaoru? Where are you? Ow! Sou, that was my foot! Go look over there!"

"O-Okay...Sorry..."

Misao rounded the corner, her hands cupped around her mouth as if ready to shout something. "Kao–!"

She paused when she noticed us standing a few feet away. Misao analyzed the scene and quickly turned around. "Well, they're not over there," she said loudly, turning on her heel.

"I promise we'll finish this later, okay? I'm sorry..." I whispered, letting my hands linger on his face just for a few last moments. He looked away and turned around quickly, sighing.

"Yeah..." he said distractedly. "Listen... I'm... I didn't mean... I... I'll be in the room, okay?" He started walking before I could do or say anything.

"Yeah, okay..." I replied, feeling dejected. I quickly ran over to Misao, catching her before she turned the corner again. "Did you need something?"

"No, no, y'all just keep...doing...whatever you're doing," she said politely. I was about to check if I had something in my ears when she nudged me and added, "Just remember to tell me all the details and good stuff later!"

Nope. Still the same old Misao. "We weren't doing anything!" I protested.

"Don't be silly, of course you were!" she whispered. "Well, you were about to, before I interrupted... Sorry."

"We were just talking!"

"With your hands on his face and his hands on your waist? That's funny, I usually don't talk to people like that. I usually _kiss_ people like that." She was grinning widely. She suddenly looked worried. "Wait, where is Kenshin going? Here, tell him I was about to leave!" She turned to leave and I grabbed her arm.

"No, it's okay, he was going to leave anyway," I lied, watching him round the corner over my shoulder. What was he about to say? Misao and I started walking towards the ship's entrance.

"Oh...So what happened?! Did you guys do anything? Why'd you leave me?" Misao threw questions at me like there was no tomorrow, and I had no choice but to answer them. Answering them wasn't a very productive idea anyway, seeing as she never believes what I say.

"We just..." I stopped and thought about the little stunt(s) I had pulled before Kenshin told me his past. Swallowing, I finished nervously in a small voice, "...talked... We just talked, that's all."

"And you expect me to believe this because...?"

"Because it's the truth, maybe?"

"No! Tell me what _really _happened! You kissed, didn't you?"

"No, we didn't..."

"Of course you did, what am I saying? There is no way he could resist my outfit... Wait..." Misao stopped again and scanned my body with narrowed eyes. Her eyes suddenly widened and she bent down to inspect my shirt. "Your clothes are a little wet and your hair is a little all messed up and..." She began staring critically at my face, making me really uncomfortable. "...And you don't have any lip gloss on! You guys _totally_ kissed!"

Well, there wasn't anything I could really say to that. I knew there was another reason why she over applied that stupid lip gloss. Damn it! "No, I...uh..." I faltered. I couldn't think of anything to say to defend myself.

"And you took off your clothes! What _else_ did y'all do, eh?" she asked suggestively.

"Nothing!" I said quickly. Hey, that was the truth. We weren't groping each other or anything.

"Omigod, you have to tell me _everything_ that happened!"

We turned to go inside and, being that I was looking at Misao rather than where I was going, I collided with someone. They caught me before I fell.

"Oi, sorry...Ah, Missy! Just the girl I was looking for!" I opened my eyes to find that Sano was the one holding me. I felt just a little disappointed, a little embarrassed, and a little pissed. I quickly up-righted myself and pushed him away.

"What do you want?" I muttered, dusting myself off. He was strangely silent, so I looked up, only to find him staring at my chest. With an irritated growl I smacked him across the face and turned away, crossing my arms instinctively over my chest. My face was burning and so was my temper. Guys are so damn perverted.

Sano was laughing and I looked at him over my shoulder. "Shut up, you perverted dumb ass," I snapped. He only smiled, holding his red cheek in his hand.

"Very cute outfit, Missy. It certainly grabbed _my_ interest for a while..." he grinned. "I guess that explains a lot, then..."

My eyes narrowed. His tone in that last sentence was teasing, and he was trying to bait me with it, I knew it. The sad part was that even though I knew that, I fell for it anyway. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He smirked. "I don't know. What do you think it means?"

"I think it means if you don't tell me I'll kick your ass."

"Well, since you put it that way, I guess I could tell you...that is, if _you_ tell me what happened between you and mop-head tonight, and I'm not falling for your stupid trick like last time!"

I groaned. Great. Just perfect. Why did everyone have to pick on _me_!? Misao was practically dying with suspense behind Sano, and Sano was looking positively smug, mentally holding some sort of information over my head.

I sighed and sat down at one of the nearby tables. They joined me, looking expectant. "Okay, I'll tell you... Just don't tell _anyone_ else, okay!?" They nodded in unison and I sighed again. "Fine, then... Here's what happened..."

AN-You know what? You know what?! Shut up. Stop laughing. I know these last few chapters have been totally out of nowhere and totally unbelievable, but I'm trying, okay! Sorry. I actually appreciate you guys, just.. It's school, I tell you! Yeah, thanks for y'alls support. I don't deserve it...Help me out with some criticism, but don't be too harsh...pwease?


End file.
